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THE    TWELVE -HOUR 
SHIFT  IN  INDUSTRY 


THE  TWELVE-HOUR 
SHIFT  IN  INDUSTRY 

by 

THE  COMMITTEE  ON 

WORK-PERIODS    IN    CONTINUOUS-INDUSTRY 

OF  THE 

FEDERATED  AMERICAN  ENGINEERING  SOCIETIES 

With  a  Foreword  by 
WARREN  G.   HARDING 

President  oj  the  United  States 


New  York 

E.  P.  BUTTON   &  COMPANY 

681  Fifth  Avenue 

U    ji.    \J    .'w    *s^ 


Copyright,  1922, 
By  E.  P.  DUTTON  &  COMPANY 

A.II  rightt  reterved 


Printed  in  the  United  States  of  America 


THE  COMMITTEE  ON  WORK  PERIODS  IN  CONTIN- 
UOUS INDUSTRY  OF  THE  FEDERATED  AMER- 
ICAN ENGINEERING   SOCIETIES. 


H.  E.  Howe,  Chairman 

Chemical  Engineer;  Editor  of  the  "Journal  of  Industrial  and  Engi- 
neering Chemistry,"  Wasliington,  D.  C. 

L.  P.  Alford 

Editor  "Management  Engineering";  Vice-President,  Ronald  Press 
Co.;  Vice-President  of  the  American  Society  of  Mechanical  Engineers, 
New  York  City. 

J.  Parke  Channing 

Mining  Engineer;  Vice-President  and  Consulting  Engineer  of  the 
Miami  Copper  Company;  Former  President  of  the  Mining  and  Metal- 
lurgical Society,  New  York  City. 

Morris  L.  Cooke 

Consulting  Engineer,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 

DwiGHT  T.  Farnham 

Consulting  Engineer;  Vice-President  of  the  Society  of  Industrial 
Engineers;  Member  A.  S.  M.  E.,  etc.  Author  of  "Europe  vs.  America 
m  Industry,"  New  York  City. 

Fred  J.  Miller 

ConRuitiiig  Industrial  Engineer;  Past  President  of  the  American 
Society  of  Mechanical  Engineers,  New  York  City. 

L.  W.  Wallace 

Industrial  Engineeer;  E.xecutive  Secretary  of  the  Federated  American 
Engineering  Societies. 

R.  B.  Wolf 

Mechanical  Engineer;  President  of  R.  B.  Wolf  Company,  Vice-Pres- 
ident of  the  Taylor  Society;  Author  of  "The  Human  Relations  in 
Industry,"  New  York  City. 

V 


CONTENTS 


FAas 


Foreword  by  Warren  G.  Harding,  President  of  the 

United  States ix 

PART  I 
V  SUMMARY  OF  DETAILED  REPORTS 

'^     CHAPTEB 

I.    Introduction       .     .     .     .  ' 3 

>\^     II.    A  General  Survey 7 

III.  The  Iron  and  Steel  Industry   ......       15 

PART  II 
^y  A  GENERAL  SURVEY 

By  Horace  B.  Drury,  Ph.D. 

IV.  The  Problem  in  General 27 

V.    The    Continuous-Industries  —  Scope   and 
^  Method  of  the  Investigation      ...  35 


J 


VI.    The  Metal  Industries 45 


^    VII.    Glass  and  Cement 70 

^}  VIII.    Lime,  Brick,  Pottery        95 

IX.    Chemical  Industries 114 

X.    Sugar,    Salt,    Petroleum,    Cottonseed    and 

Other  Vegetable  Oils 133 

XI.    Paper,  Flour,  Rubber,  Miscellaneous  Manu- 
factures, Mines 147 

XII.    Electricity,  Gas,  Water,  Ice 169 

XIII.    Transportation,  Communication,  Caretaking, 

Personal  Service 182 

vii 


viii  CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  PAQB 

XIV.     Procedure   in   Changing   from  Two-Shifts 

TO  Three  Shifts 204 

XV.    Conclusions 209 

PART  III 

THE  IRON  AND  STEEL  INDUSTRY 

By  Bradley  Stoughton 

XVI.     The  Situation  of  the  Industry   ....     219 

XVII.     Changing  to  Three  Shifts,  General  Con- 
siderations   234 

XVIII.    Labor  Costs  and  Total  Costs      ....     249 

XIX.     The  Peak  and  Valley  Loads 266 

XX.    Summary  of  the  Evidence 283 


rOEEWORD 

It  is  a  matter  of  very  much  gratification  to  me  that  the 
Federated  American  Engineering  Societies,  our  foremost 
organization  of  American  industrial  skill,  should  have  given 
two  years  of  diligent  inquiry,  under  competent  experts,  to  a 
subject  which  is  of  very  deep  interest  to  me,  and  important 
to  the  country. 

I  rejoice  to  note  the  conclusions  of  this  great  body  of 
experts  are  identical  with  those  which  I  have  reached  from 
a  purely  social  viewpoint.  It  has  seemed  to  me  for  a  long 
time  that  the  twelve-hour  day  and  the  type  of  worker  it 
produces  have  outlived  their  usefulness  and  their  part  in 
American  life  in  the  interests  of  good  citizenship,  of  good 
business,  and  of  economic  stability.  The  old  order  of  the 
twelve-hour  day  must  give  way  to  a  better  and  wiser  form 
of  organization  of  the  productive  forces  of  the  nation,  so  that 
proper  family  life  and  citizenship  may  be  enjoyed  suitably 
by  all  of  our  people. 

This  clear  and  convincing  report  of  the  engineers  must 
prove  exceedingly  helpful  in  showing  that  this  much  to  be 
desired  result  can  be  achieved  without  either  economic  or 
financial  disturbance  to  the  progress  of  American  industry. 

Waeeen  G.  Harding. 
The  White  House,  Washington, 
November  9,  1922. 


THE    TWELVE -HOUR 
SHIFT  IN  INDUSTRY 


Part  I 
SUMMARY    OF   DETAILED   REPORTS 


THE  TWELVE-HOUR  SHIFT 
IN  INDUSTRY 


CHAPTER  I 
INTRODUCTIO:?^ 

BASIS  OF  THE  STUDY 

In  1920  members  of  the  engineering  profession  began  an 
organized  study  of  the  twelve-hour  shift  or  ^'long  day"  in  the 
operation  of  continuous-process  industry.  The  spirit  of  the 
investigation  reflected  the  firm  faith  of  the  engineers  in  facts, 
and  th(?  method  adopted  was  that  of  fact  finding  and  fact 
using  Such  a  study  is  within  the  purview  of  engineering 
activities,  for  engineering  includes  "the  art  of  organizing  and 
directing  human  activities"  in  connection  with  "the  forces 
and  materials  of  nature." 

The  first  engineering  meeting  devoted  to  this  subject  was 
held  in  October  of  the  year  mentioned  at  the  Engineers'  Club 
of  Philadelphia.  The  topic  considered  was  the  technique  of 
changing  from  the  two-shift  to  the  three-shift  system  in  con- 
tinuous-procesr  industries.^  The  papers  and  discussions  at 
this  meeting  gave  experiences  in  changing  the  basis  of  opera- 
tion in  the  manufacture  of  paper,  heavy  and  light  chemicals, 
oil  and  cement,  and  in  mining,  in  supplying  water  and  in 
severa^  other  industries.  A  common  technique  was  apparent 
throughout  all  these  experiences.    The  record  of  this  meeting, 

*  Se    Journa''  Philadelphia  Engineers'  Club. 

3 


4        THE  TWELVE-HOUR  SPHFT  IN  INDUSTRY 

however,  did  not  show  to  what  extent  these  successful  though 
isolated  cases  had  influenced  the  respective  industries  to 
which  they  belonged. 

Shortly  after  this  meeting  an  investigation  was  conducted 
to  determine  the  progress  made  in  the  steel  industry  in 
changing  from  the  two-shift  day.  This  investigation  was 
directed  by  Morris  L.  Cooke.  The  study  was  made  possible 
by  a  grant  from  the  Cabot  Fund,  and  the  field  work  was 
done  by  Horace  B.  Drury.  In  Mr.  Drury's  report,  made  at 
a  joint  meeting  of  engineering  societies  held  in  New  York  in 
December,  1920,"  there  were  listed  about  twenty  steel  plants, 
some  large  but  many  of  them  small,  which  had  changed  from 
the  two-shift  to  the  three-shift  system  with  more  or  less  suc- 
cess. It  was  recognized  and  stated  that  the  problem  of  work- 
ing a  like  change  in  the  plants  of  the  U.  S.  Steel  Corporation 
and  the  large  independents,  such  as  Jones  &;  Laughlin  and 
the  Bethlehem  Steel  Company,  was  quite  different  from  that 
encountered  in  the  smaller  plants. 

Early  in  1921  the  Taylor  Society  requested  the  Inter- 
national Labor  Office  at  Geneva  to  inquire  into  the  status  of 
two-shift  work  in  countries  other  than  the  United  States.  A 
report  was  recently  issued  from  the  Washington  office  in 
memorandum  form^  to  the  effect  that  the  shorter  day  is  now 
completely  established  in  the  fifteen  foreign  countries  answer- 
ing the  questionnaire.  Early  in  1921  also,  Mr.  Drury  com- 
pleted an  inquiry  into  the  twelve-hour  shift  problem  as  re- 
gards the  larger  steel  manufacturers  in  the  United  States,  a 
report  of  which  was  issued  in  proof-sheets  in  1922  by  the 
Cabot  Fund  Trustees.  Finally  in  the  same  year,  1921,  the 
Cabot  Fund  made  a  grant  to  the  Federated  American  Engin- 

» See  Bulletin  of  the  Taylor  Society,  Vol.  VI,  No.  1. 

*  For  summary  see  International  Labor  Review,  Oct.  1922.  The 
International  Labor  Office  has  publishorl  the  roplios  in  full.  See  Studies 
and  Reports,  Series  D  (Wages  and  Hours)  No.  3,  Geneva,  Sept.  1922. 
Pp.  156.  A  summary  waa  printed  in  the  Iron  Age,  Vol.  109,  No.  20, 
May  19,  1922. 


INTRODUCTION  6 

eering  Societies  to  carry  on  the  two  studies  presented  in  thif 
volume.  The  committee  on  Work  Periods  in  Continuous  In- 
dustry was  appointed  to  direct  the  investigation. 

LINES  OF  INVESTIGATION 

To  Horace  B.  Drury  the  committee  assigned  the  task  of 
ascertaining : 

1.  The  extent  of  two-shift  work  in  continuous-process 
industries  other  than  the  manufacture  of  iron  and  steel. 

2.  The  experience  of  those  manufacturers  who  had 
changed  from  two-shift  operation  to  the  three-shift  or 
some  other  system. 

To  Bradley  Stoughton  the  committee  assigned  the  task  of 
studying  the  technical  aspects  of  changing  from  a  two-shift 
to  a  three-shift  system  in  the  iron  and  steel  industry. 


GENERAL  CONCLUSION 

There  is  no  direct  relationship  between  the  question  of 
abandoning  the  twelve-hour  shift  system  and  the  question  of 
adopting  the  eight-hour  shift  system.  In  a  sense  it  is  acci- 
dental that  most  employers  in  changing  from  the  long  day 
have  been  forced  by  the  mathematics  of  the  situation  to  adopt 
a  system  of  three  shifts  of  eight  hours  each.  Certainly  the 
change  itself  has  involved  no  judgment  as  to  the  relative 
merits  of  a  working  day  of  eight  hours  as  compared  with  a 
working  day  of  any  other  length  shorter  than  twelve  hours. 

Relatively,  only  a  small  part  of  industrial  work,  5  to  10 
per  cent,  is  on  processes  which  require  continuous  operation 
and  the  number  of  workers  is  relatively  few.  The  desirabil- 
ity of  abandoning  the  two-shift  system  lies  not  in  the  extent 


6        THE  TWELVE-HOUR  SHIFT  IN  INDUSTRY 

to  which  it  is  used  but  in  the  fact  that  the  twelve-hour  shift 
day  is  too  long  when  measured  by  twentieth  century  ideas  as 
to  the  proper  conduct  of  industry.  Decisions  are  influenced 
today  by  humanitarian  considerations  as  well  as  by  the 
economic  demand  for  that  length  of  a  day  which  will  in  the 
long  run  give  maximum  production.  This  declaration  the 
Committee  believes  is  not  controversial. 

Further,  there  is  practical  unanimity  of  opinion  in  indus- 
try as  to  the  desirability  of  the  change  provided  the  economic 
loss  is  not  too  great.  The  weight  of  evidence  indicates  that 
the  change  can  usually  be  made  at  a  small  financial  sacrifice 
on  the  part  of  the  workers  and  of  the  management.  Under 
proper  conditions  no  economic  loss  need  be  suffered.  In  cer- 
tain instances,  indeed,  both  workers  and  stockholders  have 
profited  by  the  change. 

Facts  developed  by  the  investigation  definitely  prove  that 
there  is  no  broadly  applicable  way  of  striking  a  balance  be- 
tween the  losses  and  gains  inherent  in  the  change  from  the 
two-shift  system  of  operation.  If  any  one  fact  stands  out 
above  the  others  it  is  that  the  change  cannot  advantageously 
be  made  by  fiat.  Our  judgment  is  that  to  effect  the  change 
suddenly  or  without  adequate  preparation  is  sure  to  cause 
lowered  production.  On  the  other  hand  it  is  our  judgment 
that  when  the  change  is  pre-planned  and  the  cooperation  of 
every  one  is  enlisted  gains  will  accrue  to  every  one  concerned 
— to  workers,  management,  owners  and''the  public. 


CHAPTER  II 
A  GENERAL  SURVEY 

THE  LEADING  CONTINUOUS-INDUSTRIES 

The  Drury  report  is  a  general  survey  of  all  industries 
operating  continuously  twenty-four  hours  a  day,  with  special 
consideration  of  industries  other  than  iron  and  steel. 

There  are  few  continuous-industries  which  do  not  have 
twelve-hour  plants.  Of  some  forty  or  fifty  continuous-indus- 
tries a  number  are  overwhelmingly  on  three  shifts.  Tha 
majority  are  partly  on  two  shifts  and  partly  on  three  shifts 
with  three-shift  operation  in  the  preponderance.  There  are 
a  half  dozen  industries  in  which  two-shift  operation  is  so 
nearly  universal  that  it  is  difficult  to  find  an  exception.  Out- 
side the  steel  industry  the  total  number  of  employees  on  eight- 
hour  shifts  is  now  considerably  larger  than  the  total  number 
of  employees  on  twelve-hour  shifts.  Taking  into  considera- 
tion all  continuous-industries,  between  one-third  and  one- 
half  of  all  workers  on  continuous-operation  are  on  shifts 
averaging  twelve  hours. 

The  leading  continuous-industries  may  be  classified  as 
follows : 

Group  I.  Heat-Process  Industries 


Iron  and  stoel 

Lime 

Non-ferrous  metals 

Brick 

Glass 

Pottery 

Portland  cement 

8        THE  TWELVE-HOUR  SHIFT  IN  INDUSTRY 
Group  II.  Chemical  Industries 


Heavy  chemicals 

Glue 

Fertilizers 

Drugs,  etc. 

Explosives 

Electro-chemical  industries 

Dyes 

Sugar 

Industrial  alcohol 

Table  salt 

Wood  distillation 

Petroleum 

Refined  corn  products 

Cottonseed  oil 

Soap 

Other  oils 

Group  III.  Heavy  Equipment  Industries 

Paper 

Automobiles 

Flour 

Textiles 

Rubber 

Mines 

Breakfast  foods 

Group  IV. 

Service  Industries 

Power 

Street  railways 

Gas 

Telegraph  and  telephone 

Water  supply 

Mails  and  express 

Ice 

Policemen,  firemen 

Shipping 

Watchmen 

Railroads 

SITUATION  IN  VAEIOUS  INDUSTKIES 

The  situation  in  the  iron  and  steel  industry  is  set  forth 
in  detail  in  Part  III  of  this  study.  The  outstanding  facts 
as  to  other  industries  may  he  briefly  summarized  as  follows : 

Novrferrous  Metals. 

The  three-shift  system  prevails  in  the  non-ferrous  metal 
industries.  In  the  West  the  change  took  place  twenty  or 
more  years  ago.  In  the  East  and  South  it  was  completed 
during  and  subsequent  to  the  war. 

Glass  and  Cement. 

Until  recently  the  twelve-hour  shift  was  the  rule  for 
workers  about  glass  furnaces.     At  one  window-glass  plant 


A  GENERAL  SURVEY  9 

out  of  1300  employees,  one  hundred  and  seventy-five  are  on 
a  twelve-hour  basis.  About  six  years  ago  the  Pittsburgh 
Plate  Glass  Co.  went  to  three  shifts  and  three  years  ago  the 
example  was  followed  by  the  majority  of  other  plate  glass 
producers.  Glass  bottle  blowers  have  for  many  years  been 
on  a  day  of  approximately  eight  hours.  Among  other 
workers  in  the  glass  industry,  the  day  ranges  from  approx- 
imately eight  hours  to  ten  hours,  with  a  few  on  twelve  hours. 
The  cement  industry  is  the  second  most  important  indus- 
try predominantly  on  two  shifts.  However,  the  largest  com- 
pany and  the  third  largest  company,  as  measured  by  1920 
output,  together  with  a  considerable  number  of  the  smaller 
companies,  are  on  three  shifts. 

Lime. 

About  15  per  cent,  of  the  men  in  the  plants  personally  in- 
vestigated were  on  shift-work.  In  most  parts  of  the  country 
the  lime  industry  is  uniformly  on  two  shifts. 

Bnck  and  Tile,  etc. 

There  are  more  than  100,000  men  in  the  United  States 
employed  in  this  industry,  of  whom  about  11,000  are  on  shift- 
work— for  the  most  part  on  two  shifts.  In  some  Philadelphia 
plants  men  are  on  duty  thirty-six  hours  at  a  stretch.  In 
Illinois  many  plants  have  changed  to  the  three-shift  system. 

Chemical  Industries. 

]\[ost  of  the  producers  of  heavy  chemicals  are  on  three 
shifts.  Acid  plant  employees  in  fertilizer  works  are  almost 
universally  on  twelve-hour  shifts.  The  continuous  process- 
workers  in  explosive,  industrial  alcohol  and  fine  chemical 
plants  are  goncrally  on  three  shifts.  The  Niagara  Falls 
electro-chemical  industries  are  on  three  shifts. 


10      THE  TWELVE-HOUR  SHIFT  IN  INDUSTRY 

Sugar,  Salt,  Petroleum,  Cottonseed  Oil,  etc. 

The  Louisiana  sugar  mills  are  on  twelve-hour  shifts. 
One  sugar  factory  in  Texas  tried  three  shifts  and  later 
reverted  to  two.  The  American  Sugar  Refining  Co. 
changed  to  three  shifts  in  1918.  Nearly  all  the  beet  sugar 
plants  are  on  twelve-hour  shifts ;  two  hundred  and  ten  out  of 
the  two  hundred  and  twenty-five  employees  at  one  Michigan 
plant  being  so  employed. 

In  the  salt  plants  the  twelve-hour  day  was  formerly  almost 
universal.  In  Michigan  today  most  salt  plants  are  on  three 
shifts. 

No  examples  of  two-shift  work  were  found  in  petroleum 
refining.  The  refineries  of  the  Standard  Oil  group,  as  well 
as  those  of  the  "Independents,"  are  uniformly  on  three  shifts. 
Cottonseed  crushing,  during  the  months  in  which  the  plants 
are  in  operation,  presents  one  of  the  largest  twelve-hour  shift 
problems.  Nearly  all  employees  are  shift-workers  in  this 
industry. 

Paper,  Flour,  Rubber,  etc. 

There  are  about  114,000  persons  in  the  paper  industry, 
a  large  proportion  of  whom  are  on  continuous-operation  work. 
Most  of  the  plants  operate  on  three  shifts.  Thirty  per  cent, 
of  the  shift-workers  in  Massachusetts  were  in  1912  on  twelve 
hour  shifts  and  70  per  cent,  on  eight-hour  shifts.  In  1921 
one  of  the  large  associations  of  paper  manufacturers  reported 
20  per  cent,  of  the  plants  still  on  two  shifts. 

Practically  all  the  large  flour  mills  are  on  three  shifts. 
Most  rubber  plants  have  operated  under  the  three-shift  system 
since  their  establishment.  The  preparation  of  cereal  foods 
is  usually  on  three  shifts.  Some  plants  use  the  three-shift 
operation  for  women  and  the  two-shift  for  men. 

Automobile  plants  usually  operate  on  one  or  two  shifts  of 


A  GENERAL  SURVEY  11 

about  eight  hours  each ;  but  one  very  large  company  fluctuatea 
between  two  and  three  eight-hour  shifts. 

In  the  textile  industry  the  three-shift  plan  is  used  to 
some  extent  in  the  North,  but  in  the  plants  in  the  South  two 
shifts  are  employed,  the  length  of  the  shifts  varying  greatly. 
The  hours  of  work  in  mines,  because  of  the  influence  of  trade 
unions  and  the  nature  of  the  work,  are  fixed  at  about  eight 
hours  per  day,  with  some  exceptions  in  auxiliary  occupa- 
tions, as  for  engineers,  firemen  and  pumpmen. 

Power  J  Gas,  Water  jSupply,  etc. 

Work  periods  in  power  plants  have  sometimes  been  ar- 
ranged for  overlapping  shifts  of  different  lengths  to  provide 
for  variations  in  the  degree  of  activity.  Public-service  elec- 
tric plants  in  practically  every  case,  however,  are  now  on 
eight-hour  shifts.  The  power  departments  of  factories  have 
been  run  on  the  twelve-hour  shift  down  to  the  last  few  years. 
At  present  there  is  a  tendency  to  put  engineers  and  firemen 
on  three  shifts.  The  proportion  of  shift-workers  in  gas  works 
is  large.  In  Philadelphia  and  outlying  districts  the  ten-hour 
shift  is  used  in  conjunction  with  the  eight-hour  shift.  The 
twelve-hour  shift  in  gas  manufacture  is  now  rare.  Water 
works  plants  require  less  labor  for  continuous-operation  than 
any  other  public  utility.  Most  plants  are  now  on  eight-hour 
shifts. 

Ice  manufacture  has  offered  a  large  field  for  twelve-hour 
work,  but  a  part  of  the  ice  industry  is  now  on  eight-hour 
shifts.  Watchmen  are  almost  ovorvwhero  on  twelve  hours. 
The  other  service  industries  are  very  largely  on  eight  hours. 

CONCLUSIONS 

1.  As  to  the  extent  of  continuous  work  in  American  indus- 
try, there  are  upwards  of  forty  continuous-industries  operat- 


12      THE  TWELVE-HOUR  SHIFT  IN  INDUSTRY 

ing  more  or  less  completely  upon  a  shift  system.  They 
employ  between  500,000  and  1,000,000  wage-earners  on  shift- 
work. Their  families  constitute  from  1,500,000  to  3,000,000 
persons  who  are  dependent  npon  earnings  from  shift-work. 

There  are  300,000  wage-earners  working  on  twelve-hour 
shifts.  They  and  their  families  number  more  than  1,200,000 
persons. 

2.  While  the  usual  alternative  to  the  system  of  two  twelve- 
hour  shifts  is  that  of  three  eight-hour  shifts,  other  shift 
systems  have  been  resorted  to  in  a  limited  way,  in  changing 
from  the  twelve-hour  shift.    Among  these  are : 

a.  Operation  for  a  period  shorter  than  twenty-four 
hours  in  each  calendar  day,  permitting  of  a  cessation  of 
work  from  two  to  four  hours  and  thus  establishing  two 
shifts  of  ten  or  eleven  hours  each. 

h.  Arranging  what  is  nominally  a  twelve-hour  shift 
so  that  the  actual  work  can  be  completed  in  ten  or  eleven 
hours. 

c.  Arranging  overlapping  shifts,  thus  securing  three 
nine-hour  or  three  ten-hour  shifts  in  twenty-four  hours. 

d.  Arranging  nine-  and  ten-hour  shifts  on  the  five- 
shift  plan. 

3.  On  the  part  of  an  overwhelming  majority  of  the  plants 
which  have  changed  from  two-  to  three-shift  operation  no 
technical  difficulties  have  been  encountered.  There  is  usually 
no  relationship  between  the  duration  of  the  process  and  the 
length  of  the  shift,  whether  the  latter  is  twelve  hours  long,  or 
a  shorter  period.  The  seeming  disadvantage  of  having  three 
men  instead  of  two  responsible  for  a  given  product,  process, 
or  equipment  is  overcome  by  standardizing  procedure  and 
establishing  control  through  precision  instruments. 

4.  The  following  factors  should  be  considered  in  changing 
from  two-  to  three-shift  operation: 


A  GENERAL  SURVEY  13 

a.  The  readiness  or  unreadiness,  of  the  men  to  do 
more  work  per  hour  under  the  shorter  shift. 

h.  The  responsibility  of  management  as  expressed  in 
planning,  supervision  and  control,  which  must  be  of  a 
higher  quality  than  usually  prevails  under  two-shift  op- 
eration. 

c.  The  fluctuations  in  individual  earnings  and  labor 
costs, 

d.  General  industrial  and  economic  conditions,  as 
helping  to  determine  the  time  for  making  the  change. 

e.  The  relationship  of  work  periods  for  shift-workers 
and  day-workers. 

/.  The  relationship  of  wage-rates  for  shift-workers 
and  day-workers. 

g.  The  number  of  working  days  in  a  week. 
h.  The  rotation  of  shifts. 

5.  It  is  not  possible  to  give  inclusive  data  as  to  the  effect 
upon  the  number  of  shift-workers  of  the  change  from  two-  to 
three-shift  operation,  because  of  variations  in  conditions.  In 
many  plants  the  number  of  shift-workers  has  increased  in 
proportion  to  the  increase  in  number  of  shifts.  In  other 
plants  the  number  of  shift-workers  has  remained  sub- 
stantially constant  when  changing  from  two-  to  three-shift 
operation. 

6.  The  effect  of  the  eight-hour  as  compared  with  the 
twelve-hour  shift  operation  on  the  quantity  and  quality  of 
production  has  been  satisfactory  where  good  management 
and  cooperation  of  labor  have  been  secured.  In  practically 
every  major  continuous-industry  there  are  plants  which  have 
increased  the  quantity  of  production  per  man  as  much  as  25 
per  cent.  In  a  few  exceptional  cases  the  increase  has  been 
much  higher.  Evidence  shows  also  an  improvement  in 
quality  of  production  following  the  reduction  in  the  length 
of  shifts. 


14      THE  TWELVE-HOUR  SHIFT  IN  INDUSTRY 

The  change  from  two  to  three  shifts  has  in  practically 
every  case  reduced  absenteeism  and  labor  turn-over,  and  in  a 
marked  degree.  There  is  little  evidence  to  show  that  per- 
sonal injuries  to  workmen  have  been  reduced. 

7.  In  changing  to  three-shifts  hourly  wage-rates  have 
been  most  commonly  increased  about  20  or  25  per  cent.  But 
the  character  of  the  adjustment  has  varied  greatly  in  accord- 
ance with  existing  economic  conditions  and  the  special  cir- 
cumstances of  the  plant. 

8.  There  is  a  natural  divergence  of  opinion  as  to  the  ad- 
vantages and  disadvantages  of  the  three-shift  operation,  but 
the  weight  of  the  evidence  and  the  most  positive  statements 
are  in  its  favor. 

9.  The  evidence  is  conclusive  that  the  extra  leisure  time 
of  the  men  under  the  shorter  working  day  is  used  to  good 
advantage.  It  is  spent  in  gardening,  truck-farming  and  in 
doing  odd  jobs  which  otherwise  would  have  to  be  paid  for  or 
would  not  be  done  at  all.  Or  it  is  used  for  recreation,  for 
family  or  social  life,  or  for  following  the  individual's  per- 
sonal interests. 

10.  A  few  plants  have  reverted  to  the  two-shift  operation 
after  a  trial  of  the  three-shift  system.  Their  proportion, 
however,  to  the  number  continuing  operation  on  three  shifts 
is  so  small  as  to  be  negligible.  The  weight  of  evidence  shows 
that  when  a  plant  changes  to  three-shift  operation  it  is  very 
unlikely  that  it  will  revert  to  the  former  system. 


CHAPTER  III 
THE  IRON  AND  STEEL  INDUSTRY 

SITUATION  IN  THE  IKON  AND  STEEL  INDUSTm? 

The  Stoughton  report  deals  with  the  change  from  the 
twelve-hour  shift  to  the  eight-hour  shift  in  the  iron  and  steel 
industry  from  the  technical  viewpoint.  It  deals  with  the 
practicability  of  making  the  change,  its  effect  and  the,  most 
economical  method  of  changing. 

In  1919,  the  United  States  Steel  Corporation  employed 
approximately  70,000  twelve-hour  employees.  Altogether, 
there  are  perhaps  150,000  wage-earners  in  the  entire  steel 
industry  on  twelve-hour  shifts. 

A  wise  executive  policy  takes  into  full  consideration  the 
importance  of  the  intellectual,  the  psychological  and  the 
physical  well-being  of  labor,  realizing  that  an  immediate 
saving  secured  by  over-pressure  inevitably  becomes  a  loss  in 
the  long  run.  A  refusal  to  cooperate  on  the  part  of  the 
workers  is  an  economic  loss.  Furthermore  it  is  obviously  of 
no  permanent  benefit  to  the  men  if  their  hours  are  shortened 
beyond  the  point  where  the  industry  can  survive  under  com- 
petitive conditions. 

The  factors  to  consider  in  determining  the  economic  num- 
ber of  working  hours  for  a  worker  are: 

1.  His  .productivity. 

2.  His   skill,   carefulness,   endurance,   alertness,   intelli- 

gence, judgment,  regularity,  morale  and  goodwill. 

3.  His  attraction  to  the  work — so  that  the  industry  may 

15 


16      THE  TWELVE-HOUR  SHIFT  IN  INDUSTRY 


benefit  from  the  maximum  supply  of  labor  of  the 
highest  type. 
4.  His  persistence  in  the  work  so  that  once  he  is  trained 
and  his  qualities  known  to  the  management  he  will 
remain  an  asset  to  the  industry. 

The  twelve-hour  day  is  strongly  established  in  the  iron 
and  steel  industry  by  long  custom  and  by  its  unusual  adapt- 
ability to  production  requirements.  Recent  progress,  how- 
ever, has  been  in  the  direction  of  a  shorter  day  as  well  as  in 
the  reduction  of  the  proportion  of  men  on  duty  seven  days  a 
week.  This  is  shown  by  the  following  tabulation  which  gives 
the  percentage  of  men  so  employed. 


Percentage  of 

Men  Working  on  12-Homt  Basis 

Seven  days  per  week 

Twelve  hours 

1910 

1920 

1910 

1920 

Blast  furnaces 

75% 

18 

24 

29% 

12 

17 

69% 

65 

76 

63% 

Bessemer  mills 

75 

Open  hearth 

50 

One  reason  why  the  twelve-hour  day  has  persisted  in  the 
steel  industry  is  the  irregularities  in  the  operations,  and 
therefore  in  the  intensity  of  labor,  which  permit  rest  periods 
and  avoid  excessive  fatigue  due  to  twelve-hour  employment. 

Recent  improvements  in  equipment  and  the  adoption  of 
electrical  appliances  have  greatly  decreased  the  frequency 
and  the  duration  of  interruptions  of  the  different  processes 
due  to  breakdowns,  especially  in  the  rolling  mills.  Moreover, 
mechanical  and  other  labor-saving  devices  have  lessened  the 
severity  of  peak  loads  due  to  the  processes  themselves,  both  in 
respect  to  physical  endurance  and  heat  exposure.  For  in- 
stance : 


THE  IRON  AND  STEEL  INDUSTRY  17 

1.  Oxygen  is  used  to  open  the  tap  hole,  and  a  mud  gun  to 
close  it. 

2.  The  cast  house  with  its  severe  manual  labor  has  been 
replaced  by  an  arrangement  which  allows  the  liquid  pig  iron 
to  run  directly  into  ladles  supported  on  railroad  cars.  Under 
this  arrangement  a  former  crew  of  twenty-one  men  is  reduced 
to  five — sometimes  to  three  men. 

3.  Ore  and  the  materials  formerly  piled,  shoveled  and 
wheeled  by  hand  are  now  handled  from  railroad  cars  to  the 
furnace  hopper  entirely  without  manual  labor.  Six  men 
handle  two  thousand  tons  when  previously  it  required  twenty- 
three  to  handle  eight  hundred  tons.  This  enables  the  fillers 
to  work  continuously. 

4.  At  the  Ford  plant  (which  is  a  blast-furnace  only),  in- 
stead of  allowing  the  fillers  to  rest  occasionally  as  is  usual  in 
the  twelve-hour  plants,  with  consequent  lowering  of  the  stock 
line  level  in  the  furnace  and  of  the  furnace  efiiciency,  an 
automatic  record  is  kept  of  the  level  of  the  stock  line  in  the 
furnace,  of  the  temperature  of  the  top  gases  and  of  the  time 
at  which  the  charging  skip  makes  its  trips.  Continuous  ad- 
herence to  the  standards  set  can  be  insisted  upon  and  the  rest 
periods  and  furnace  inefiiciency  eliminated  because  of  the 
high  wages  and  the  eight-hour  day.  This  condition  affects 
the  men  in  front  of  the  furnace  as  well  as  the  fillers. 

These  changes  in  blast-furnace  operation  have  made  pos- 
sible : 

a.  Reduction  in  number  of  workmen. 

b.  Increase  in  overall  eflSciency. 

c.  Elimination  of  the  floating  gang. 

d.  Reduction  of  absences,  tardiness,  labor  turnover. 

e.  Greater  regularity  of  operation  and  loss  loss  of  time. 
/.  Fewer  accidents  and  breakdowns. 

g.  Less  costly  repairs. 

h.  Decreased  cost  of  production. 


18      THE  TWELVE-HOUR  SHIFT  IN  INDUSTRY 

It  is  emphatically  asserted  by  blast-furnace  managers 
working  the  eight  hours  that  the  higher  grade  of  labor  at- 
tracted by  the  shorter  hours,  the  greater  care  and  alertness, 
better  work,  and  more  skilful  operation  are  all  reflected  in  a 
saving  in  cost  of  production  as  enumerated  in  the  last  five 
items  above.  Cost  figures  are  confidential  but  furnace  oper- 
ators working  under  the  eight-hour  day  assured  the  investi- 
gator on  more  than  one  occasion  that  the  cost  of  producing 
pig  iron  is  less  on  the  eight-hour  than  on  the  twelve-hour  day. 

At  the  Ford  plant,  although  the  men  are  paid  seventy-five 
cents  and  upward  per  hour  and  work  only  eight  hours — as 
compared  with  twenty-seven  to  thirty  cents  per  hour  at  vari- 
ous twelve-hour  plants  visited — nevertheless  they  make  pig 
iron  cheaper  than  it  can  be  bought.  This  is  attributed  to  the 
greater  efiiciency  of  labor  and  of  operation. 

In  the  case  of  open-hearth  furnaces : 

1.  The  charging  machine  has  greatly  reduced  the  work 

of  the  crew  on  the  charging  platform. 

2.  Electric  appliances  for  raising  furnace  doors,  mechan- 

ical appliances  for  changing  valves,  etc.,  have  re- 
duced labor. 

3.  Oxygen  is  used  in  tapping  and  compressed  air  for  re- 

pairing the  hole.  A  mechanical  appliance  has 
replaced  hand-shoveling  of  recarbonizer  into  the 
ladle.    Repairs  are  made  with  the  mud  gun. 

Economical  open-hearth  operation  is  dependent  upon  the 
care,  expertness  and  loyalty  of  the  men ;  the  shirking  of  duty 
is  costly.  Carelessness  is  more  likely  to  occur  on  a  twelve- 
than  on  an  eight-hour  shift. 

In  the  case  of  rolling  mills  eight-hour  shift  operation  pro- 
duces a  decided  increase  of  efiiciency  in  the  case  of  the  lever 
men   manifested   in:     increased    output;    less   waste   from 


THE  IRON   AND  STEEL  INDUSTRY  19 

"cobbles"  or  spoilage;  less  need  of  repairs;  elimination  of 
"spell  hands." 


CHANGING  FROM  LONG  SHIFT  TO  SHOET— NECESSAEY 
CONDITIONS 

Successfully  to  change  from  the  twelve-  to  the  eight-hour 
shift  certain  definite  preparations  must  be  made. 

1.  The  equipment  must  be  in  satisfactory  condition  to 

respond  to  increased  intensity  of  operation 

2.  The  cooperation  of  the  workmen  must  be  secured. 

3.  Necessary  labor  must  be  available. 

4.  The  technical  staff  must  be  prepared  to  furnish  full 

information  regarding  available  labor-saving  appli- 
ances. 

5.  Existing  "bottle  necks"  must  be  eliminated  and  prob- 

able ones  avoided. 

6.  Peak  loads  must  be  studied  with  special  reference  to 

the  installation  of  mechanical  appliances. 

7.  The  change  must  not  be  made  during  a  period  of  labor 

unrest : 
a.  After  strife. 
5.  When  bitterness  exists. 

c.  When  mutual  confidence  is  lacking. 

d.  When  labor  is  arrogant  or  elated  by  the  defeat  of 

the  management. 

8.  The  change  must  not  be  made  too  suddenly. 

9.  Management  must  be  able  to  exert  a  strong  influence 

against: 
a.  Tardiness  and  absence. 
h.  Deliberate  shirking. 
c.  Misuse  of  extra  hours  of  free  time. 
10.  Where  possible  time  studies  of  the  work  should  be 

made  to  determine  how  much  more  the  twelve-hour 


20      THE  TWELVE-HOUR  SHIFT  IN  INDUSTRY 

crew  could  produce  per  hour  if  it  worked  with 
greater  efficiency.  The  same  hourly  rate  for  eight 
hours,  as  for  twelve  should  he  paid  hut  a  bonus 
should  be  added  which  will  enable  the  men  by  be- 
coming more  e^cient,  to  maintain  their  daily  in- 
come. 

Labor  Costs  and  Total  Costs. 

The  United  States  has  the  most  profitable  iron  and  steel 
industry  in  the  world,  making  more  money  and  yielding  more 
output  than  all  the  rest  of  the  world  put  together  and  export- 
ing its  product  in  successful  competition  with  foreign  coun- 
tries. The  majority  of  managers  and  executives  with  whom 
the  matter  was  discussed  believe  that  the  good  of  the  industry 
can  be  better  served  by  eliminating  the  twelve-hour  day  than 
by  increasing  dividends,  provided  that,  by  means  of  labor- 
saving  devices  and  in  other  ways  this  step  can  be  taken  with- 
out serious  injury  to  the  industry. 

The  fact  that  already  many  plants  operate  successfully  on 
the  three-shift  system  indicates  that  profits  need  not  suffer 
if  the  change  is  made  with  wisdom.  The  cost  of  all  blast-fur- 
nace labor  according  to  either  system,  is  less  than  one  dollar 
per  ton  of  pig.  Judge  Gary  testified  before  the  Lockwood 
Committee  in  June,  1922,  that  the  U.  S.  Steel  Corporation 
could  produce  at  two  dollars  per  ton  less  than  its  competitors. 
This  shows  what  low  overhead  and  expert  technical  skill  can 
accomplish. 

The  operating  labor  in  the  case  of  pig  iron  is  from  5.8  per 
cent,  to  8  per  cent,  of  the  total  manufacturing  cost.  Only  a  part 
of  the  labor  in  tlie  steel  industry  is  working  the  twelve-hour 
shift.  If  that  labor  was  changed  to  the  eight-hour  shift  and 
paid  as  much  per  day  as  it  is  now  getting  for  twelve-hour 
work,  even  without  securing  any  compensating  advantages 
through  increased  efficiency,  morale,  etc.,  the  total  manufac- 


THE  IRON  AND  STEEL  INDUSTRY  21 

turing  cost  of  the  product  in  the  steel  industry  would  be  in- 
creased only  from  3  to  15  per  cent.  This  is  in  most  cases  less 
than  the  variations  in  cost  already  experienced  by  competing 
plants,  due  to  difference  in  efficiency  of  equipment,  technical 
skill,  purchasing,  location,  capital  resources,  overhead  ex- 
pense and  skill  of  management. 

As  a  matter  of  actual  experience  it  is  known  that  some 
plants  have  changed  from  the  twelve-hour  to  the  eight-hour 
shift  and  reduced  their  labor  costs.  Others  have  reduced 
their  total  manufactu:^Iiig  cost.  Others  are  operating  eight- 
hour  shifts  with  satisfaction  to  management  and  stockholders. 
Results  in  such  plants  may  be  summarized  as  follows : 

1.  Some  plants  which  have  adopted  the  three-shift  system, 

though  paying  wages  a  little  less  than  are  paid  in 
corresponding  plants  working  twelve  hour  shifts, 
have  sufficient  labor,  both  skilled  and  unskilled. 

2.  The  management  believes  that  the  shorter  hours  attract 

a  better  class  of  labor. 

3.  Every  executive  interviewed  stated  that  there  is  a 

smaller  labor  turnover  on  the  three-shift  system  than 
on  the  two-shift  system. 

4.  Sufficient  skilled  labor  can  be  trained  in  the  plant  if 

the  change  is  made  with  the  cooperation  of  the  men, 
and  if  it  is  made  gradually. 

5.  It  is  unnecessary  to  pay  a  full  twelve-hour  wage  to 

skilled  labor  to  secure  a  sufficient  number  to  work 
the  eight-hour  shift. 

Oams  from  the  Three-shift  System. 

The  change  from  the  twelve-  to  the  eight-hour  shift  has 
secured  results  sufficient  to  compensate  in  whole  or  in  part  for 
the  extra  cost : 

1.  Increased  efficiency  manifested  in  increased  produc- 


22      THE  TWELVE-HOUR  SHIFT  IN  INDUSTRY 

tion  per  man  per  hour  and  per  machine  per  day, 
due  to: 

a.  Better  physical  and  mental  condition  of  the  men, 
h.  Better  class  of  men  attracted. 

c.  Better  conduct  of  operation. 

d.  More  uniform  operation. 

e.  Better  quality  of  product. 
/.  Less  fuel  used. 

g.  Less  waste. 

h.  Less  need  of  repairs  to  equipment. 

i.  Longer  life  of  apparatus. 

2.  Better  morale  resulting  in : 

cu  Less  absence  and  tardiness. 
h.  Less  shirking. 
c.  Better  discipline,  due  to : 
Better  spirit  of  the  men. 

Greater  pressure  which  foremen  can  and  will 
exert  because  they  do  not  have  to  hold  back  out 
of  sympathy  for  tired  men. 

3.  Elimination  of  the   "floating  gang/'  maintained   in 

twelve-hour  shift  plants  to  give  twelve-hour  men  a 
day  off  a  week. 

4.  Greater  prestige  with  the  public — which  is  invaluable 

in  time  of  strife. 

GENERAL  CONCLUSIONS  OF  WHOLE  INQUIRY 

There  are  certain  outstanding  conclusions  in  regard  to 
the  change  from  the  twelve-  to  the  eight-hour  shift  which 
occur  in  both  the  Drury  and  Stoughton  reports : 

1.  The   tendency  throughout   the  world   is  toward  the 
abolition  of  the  twelve-hour  shift. 


THE  IRON  AND  STEEL  INDUSTRY  23 

2.  In  almost  every  continuous-industry  there  are  plants 

which  are  operating  on  an  eight-hour  shift  basis 
in  competition  with  twelve-hour  shift  plants. 

3.  To  make  the  change  from  the  three-shift  operation  suc- 

cessfully and  economically  it  is  desirable  that : 

a.  The  majority  of  the  workmen  appreciate  the  value 
of  the  extra  leisure. 

h.  The  workmen  be  willing  to  concede  something  in  the 
way  of  daily  income.  The  plan  which  divides  the 
extra  labor  cost  equally  between  the  men  and  the 
company  has  been  acceptable  in  a  number  of  cases, 

c.  A  survey  of  the  field  be  made  for  labor-saving  equip- 

ment and  methods  of  management  which  will 
facilitate  the  work  after  the  change  is  made. 

d.  The  plant  management  study  equipment  and  methods 

of  operation  and  make  every  possible  change  in 
the  plant  and  in  the  organization  to  facilitate 
operation  under  the  three-shift  system. 

e.  All  equipment  be  in  condition  to  respond  to  in- 

creased intensity  of  operation. 

/.  The  workmen  be  instructed  in  their  duties  under  the 
new  system  and  the  cooperation  of  the  whole  or- 
ganization be  secured. 

g.  The  extra  trained  labor  required  be  available. 

h.  The  time  for  the  change  be  selected  with  great  care. 
Periods  of  labor  unrest  must  be  avoided,  the  suc- 
cess of  each  step  assured  before  another  is  taken. 

6.  In  a  number  of  plants  where  the  change  has  been  made 
with  success  the  management  reports  these  results: 

a.  Better  physical  and  mental  condition  of  workmen. 
h.   "improvemsnt  in  jlass  jf  vorkmen. 
c.  Less  mirking,  „ardiness,  absenteeism  and   ^bor-hirn- 
0',  er. 


24      THE  TWELVE-HOUR  SHIFT  IN  INDUSTRY 

d.  Improved  spirit  and  cooperation  of  workmen. 

e.  More  exact  adherence  to  instructions  as  to  working 

methods. 
/.  More  uniform  methods  with  consequent  attainments 

of  standards,  etc. 
g.  Better  quality  of  product. 
h.  Increased  output  per  man  per  hour. 
i.  Less  material  used. 
j.  Wastes  eliminated. 

h.  Longer  life  of  equipment  and  less  need  of  repairs. 
I.  Greater  prestige  with  the  public. 


Part    II 
A  GENERAL   SURVEY 


BY 


HORACE  B.  DRURY,  Ph.D. 

Formerly  of  the  Economics  Department,  Ohio  State  University ;  Author 

of  "Scientific  Management" ;  Lately  with  the  Industrial  Belations 

Division   of   the    United   States   Shipping   Board;   now   mrmber 

of  the  Staff,  Institute  of  Economics,   Washington,  D.   C. 


CHAPTER  IV 
THE  PROBLEM  IN  GENERAL 

WORKING  CONDITIONS— IMPORTANCE  IN  INDUSTRY 

The  people  of  the  United  States  realize  today  more 
clearly  than  ever  before  that  the  main  business  and  obligation 
of  industry  is  to  produce  goods,  and  to  produce  them  at  as 
low  a  cost  and  in  as  great  abundance  as  possible.  But  im- 
portant as  the  production  of  goods  obviously  is,  the  effect  of 
industry  upon  those  who  labor  is  hardly  less  vital.  For  many 
persons,  that  portion  of  their  time  devoted  to  labor  constitutes 
a  most  important  factor  in  their  lives,  either  in  what  it  intro- 
duces into  their  experience  or  in  what  it  shuts  out. 

That  is,  the  conditions  under  which  men  live  during  that 
part  of  the  day  devoted  to  work,  the  character  which  the  task 
stamps  upon  mind  and  body,  the  sort  of  life  outside  of  the 
shop  which  men's  occupations  permit  them  and  their  families 
to  enjoy,  these  things  have  almost  as  important  a  share  in 
determining  the  comfort  and  well-being  of  society  in  general 
as  does  the  quantity  of  goods  produced. 

Hours  of  Labor — Interest  in  the  Subject. 

This  clearer  appreciation  of  what  may  be  called  the 
human  factor  in  industry  has  led  in  recent  years  to  the  chang- 
ing of  industrial  practice  along  many  lines:  to  workmen's 
compensation  and  accident  prevention ;  to  the  cleaning  up 
and  beautification  of  factories ;  to  the  establishment  of  rela- 
tions between  employers  and  employees  so  planned  as  to  make 
men  feel  that  they  have  an  important  relationship  to  a  great 

27 


28      THE  TWELVE  HOUR  SHIFT  IN  INDUSTRY 

enterprise.  However,  of  all  the  problems  concerning  labor, 
perhaps  none  has  received  more  consideration  than  the  ques- 
tion of  hours.  An  interest  in  hours  was  indeed  active  for 
decades,  if  not  a  century,  before  much  thought  was  given  to 
safety  or  to  many  of  the  present  policies  relating  to  labor. 
It  is  patent  that  hours  constitute  almost  as  important  a  part 
of  the  industrial  contract  as  does  the  wage-rate  itself.  They 
necessarily  have  some  bearing  on  efficiency,  on  the  pleasure 
of  work  and  on  the  employee's  health.  So  a  century  and  more 
ago  the  question  of  hours  was  beginning  to  be  a  matter  for 
legislation  in  England,  first  as  regarded  children  and  then 
as  regarded  women.  And  very  early  the  trade  unions  began 
to  take  an  interest  in  the  subject,  as  did  also  some  employers. 
The  work-day  which  once  had  been  twelve  hours,  or  more, 
was  reduced  in  the  great  majority  of  manufacturing  indus- 
tries to  ten  hours  and  in  certain  trades  and  sections  it  became 
eight.  The  expanded  interest  in  working  conditions  which 
has  marked  the  last  decade  has  centered  to  a  considerable 
degree  around  the  question  of  hours. 

Prior  to  the  War  the  customary  day  for  unskilled  labor 
in  most  American  industries  was  ten  hours,  for  skilled  me- 
chanics it  was  often  nine,  but  in  some  of  the  more  strongly 
unionized  trades  it  was  eight.  These  variations  in  practice 
caused  the  question  of  hours  to  become  a  leading  one,  and  in 
the  course  of  the  War  an  appreciable  section  of  American! 
industry  went  to  an  eight-hour  day,  especially  in  the  West, 
and  in  cities  and  shipbuilding  centers. 

Immediately  after  the  close  of  the  War,  most  European 
countries  definitely  established  the  principle  of  an  eight-hour 
day.  In  America,  however,  the  question  of  hours,  especially 
the  question  of  a  ten-hour  versus  an  eight-hour  day,  is  still  a 
prominent  issue.  Employers,  in  many  cases  where  the  eight- 
hour  day  has  been  introduced,  maintain  that  it  would  be  to 
the  interest  of  all  concerned  to  return  to  a  nine-  or  ten-hour 


THE  PROBLEM  IN  GENERAL  29 

day.  Organized  labor,  on  the  other  hand,  adheres  staunchly 
to  the  principle  of  the  shorter  day.  The  attitude  of  indi- 
vidual employees  is  often  in  doubt — or  at  least  in  dispute. 

Working  Hours  in  Continuous-Industries. 

There  is,  however,  one  aspect  of  the  subject  of  hours 
which  has  received  no  adequate  consideration ;  and  that  is  the 
problem  of  working  hours  in  the  continuous-industries. 

When  persons  speak  of  hours  of  labor  they  are  thinking  in 
almost  all  cases  of  the  ordinary  day  turn  which  begins  at 
about  7  in  the  morning  and  ends  at  from  3 :30  to  5 :30  in  the 
afternoon.  In  the  case  of  the  day-work  there  is  obviously  no 
difficulty  in  adjusting  the  times  of  starting  and  stopping  so  as 
to  give  the  desired  number  of  hours.  What  the  country,  in  its 
interest  in  hours,  has  not  realized  is  that  underlying  the 
major  portion  of  the  nation's  industry,  which  operates  only 
by  day,  there  are  some  forty  or  fifty  industries  where  pro- 
duction is  carried  on  throughout  the  twenty-four  hours.  In 
these  industries,  the  number  of  hours  worked  per  day  is  de- 
termined not  by  what  would  in  itself  constitute  the  best  length 
of  work-day,  but  by  what  is  possible  and  practicable  consider- 
ing the  requirement  that  the  total  of  all  the  work  periods 
must  be  an  even  twenty-four  hours. 

The  division  of  twenty-four  hours  into  ten-  or  nine-hour 
periods  is  a  difficult  matter.  This  fact,  connected  with  the 
lack  of  enthusiasm  on  the  part  of  managers  of  continuous- 
operation  plants,  and  indeed  of  labor  in  many  instances,  in 
part  accounts  for  the  slowness  with  which  the  elimination  of 
twelve-hour  work  has  taken  place.  It  is  also  true  that  many 
men  on  continuous  work  are  employed  in  watching  equipment 
rather  than  in  doing  great  quantities  of  manual  labor  so  that 
the  physical  strain  and  the  lessened  efficiency  of  a  twelve-hour 
day  are  not  so  great  as  on  most  types  of  day-work.  This  no 
doubt  accounted  for  the  almost  universal  practice  of  making 


30      THE  TWELVE-HOUR  SHIFT  IN  INDUSTRY 

the  duty  of  shift-workers  two  hours  longer  rather  than  two 
hours  shorter  than  the  common  ten-hour  day. 

The  twelve-hour  day  for  shift-workers  is  still  to  be  found 
widely  distributed  throughout  the  continuous-operation  in- 
dustries. But  today  it  no  longer  holds  the  distinction  of 
being  the  only  practice.  In  most  of  the  continuous-industries 
the  question  of  three  versus  two  shifts  was  not  given  serious 
consideration  until  within  the  last  ten  years  and  in  most  of 
the  plants  the  matter  did  not  come  up  for  practical  decision 
until  the  outbreak  of  the  War.  By  1920,  there  were  in  prac- 
tically all  of  the  continuous-industries  some  plants  operating 
three  shifts. 

The  transformation  was,  however,  far  from  being  com- 
plete. At  the  date  of  this  writing  (1922)  there  are  few  con- 
tinuous-industries which  do  not  have  some  twelve-hour  plants. 
In  many  instances  the  volume  of  twelve-hour  work  is  large. 
The  present  situation  may  be  stated  as  follows : 

1.  Of  some  forty  or  fifty  continuous  industries,  j£ 
number  are  overwhelmingly  on  three  shifts. 

2.  The  majority  are  partly  on  two  shifts  and  partly 
on  three,  usually  with  three-shift  operation  in  the  pre- 
ponderance. 

3.  In  some  half  a  dozen  industries  two-shift  operation 
is  still  so  nearly  universal  that  it  is  exceedingly  difficult 
to  find  an  exception. 

4.  Outside  of  the  steel  industry,  the  total  number  of 
employees  on  eight-hour  shifts  is  now  considerably  larger 
than  the  total  number  of  employees  on  twelve-hour  shifts. 

5.  Taking  into  consideration  all  the  continuous-indus- 
tries, including  steel,  it  is  probable  that  from  one-third 
to  one-half  of  all  the  shift-workers  employed  at  the  close 
of  the  last  period  of  normal  business  activity  were  on 
shifts  averaging  twelve  hours. 


THE  PROBLEM  IN  GENERAL  31 

The  Twelve-hour  Shift — LacJc  of  Information. 

There  is  an  unbelievable  lack  of  knowledge  pertaining  to 
the  twelve-hour  shift.  There  are  no  statistics  covering  the 
matter  of  shift-work,  nor  has  the  government  or  any  other 
agency  collected  figures  which  show  the  number  of  twelve- 
hour  workers.  The  federal  government,  indeed,  through  the 
Census  of  Manufactures,  and  some  of  the  states,  as  Ohio, 
Massachusetts,  and  New  York,  collect  masses  of  figures  on 
hours.  But  the  state  figures  are  usually  union  regulations, 
which  generally  do  not  apply  to  continuous-operation  em- 
ployees ;  while  the  voluminous  statistics  on  hours  collected  for 
the  federal  census,  and  by  the  state  authorities  in  Ohio,  are 
no  more  than  a  report  on  the  prevailing  hours  in  the  several 
establishments.  In  most  continuously  operated  plants  the 
hours  of  shift-workers  are  not  the  prevailing  hours,  more  than 
fifty  per  cent,  of  the  employees  being  on  day-work,  with  hours 
different  from  those  of  the  shift-workers.  It  is,  accordingly, 
the  length  of  the  day  w^orked  by  day-workers,  which  is  in  most 
cases  reported  for  the  entire  plant.  And  the  twelve-hour  or 
eight-hour  shift  employees,  amounting  perhaps  to  twenty-five 
or  forty  per  cent,  of  the  total,  are  thus  treated  as  though 
they  did  not  exist,  or  rather  as  though  they  worked 
the  same  hours  as  the  day-workers.  On  the  other  hand 
the  reports  from  those  plants  where  more  than  fifty  per 
cent,  of  the  employees  work  twelve  hours  show  both  day 
and  shift-workers  as  working  twelve  hours.  This,  of  course, 
is  an  exaggeration.  Under  certain  circumstances  a  study  of 
these  reports  is  of  help,  as  they  point  out  where  a  twelve- 
hour  day  is  to  be  found,  but  they  do  not  present  an  accurate 
or  even  an  approximately  correct  picture  of  the  extent,  or  the 
distribution,  of  twelve-hour  work.^ 

'In  the  reports  of  the  last  Census  of  Manufactures  (1919)  the 
columns  for  hours  "over  72,"  "72"  and  "between  60  and  72,"  which 
had  been  shown  separately  in  the  Census  of  1914  and  in  earlier  years, 
were  merged.  Thus  tho  only  information  now  available  is  for  hours 
* '  over  60. ' ' 


32      THE  TWELVE-HOUR  SHIFT  IN  INDUSTRY 

Some  information — but  wholly  inadequate — may  be  ob- 
tained from  the  more  intensive  studies  of  hours  which  have 
been  made  for  a  few  specific  industries.  In  1912  the  authori- 
ties of  Massachusetts  made  a  detailed  study  of  the  hours 
worked  by  both  day-workers  and  shift-workers  in  the  paper 
mills.  The  Federal  Bureau  of  Labor  Statistics  in  1919 
analyzed  hours  in  a  considerable  number  of  industries.  But 
these  industries,  like  those  for  which  the  Bureau  has  at  other 
times  made  studies,  were  in  the  main  not  continuous- 
industries.  The  figures  were  also  for  selected  plants  rather 
than  for  all  plants.  And  the  statistics  gathered  are  for  hours 
actually  worked  during  a  pay-roll  period,  rather  than  for  the 
normal  working  day.  They,  therefore,  give  a  day  shorter 
than  the  actual  day  for  every  employee  who  was  absent  or 
out  of  employment  for  a  part  of  the  period.  From  the  num- 
ber of  employees  whose  hours  are  put  down  as  six,  five,  four, 
and  even  "under  four"  hours  a  day,  it  is  apparent  that  this 
last  method  of  counting  hours,  though  of  value  when  it  comes 
to  throwing  light  on  employment  and  earnings,  has  detracted 
considerably  from  the  availability  of  the  statistics  as  an  indi- 
cation of  the  length  of  tlie  working  day.^ 

The  best  study  of  hours  in  a  continuous-industry  was 
made  some  ten  years  ago  by  what  was  then  the  Bureau  of 
Labor,  in  the  Department  of  Commerce  and  Labor.  It  was 
an  extensive  study  of  the  twelve-hour  day  in  the  steel  indus- 
try. At  various  times  in  the  last  decade  or  so  there  have  been 
private  inquiries  affecting  this  one  industry.  The  public  has 
been  informed  to  some  extent  with  reference  to  the  hours  of 
shift-workers  in  the  steel  industry,  and  to  a  lesser  degree,  the 
paper  industry.    But  aside  from  these  two  industries  the  pub- 

'Also,  the  inclusion  in  the  statistics  of  overtime  has,  in  at  least  one 
instance,  given  the  appearance  of  long  hours,  where  they  do  not  normally 
exist.  Nevertheless,  in  the  limited  field  which  they  cover,  tho  figures  of 
the  Bureau  of  Labor  Statistics  are  much  more  serviceable,  for  our  pur- 
pose, than  those  collected  by  tho  census. 


THE  PROBLEM  IN  GENERAL  33 

lie  has  had  practically  no  information.  As  an  evidence  of 
the  lack  of  general  information  almost  all  discussion  relating 
to  the  twelve-hour  shift  has  centered  around  the  steel  indus- 
try, as  though  the  practice  of  twelve-hour  shifts  existed  only 
there.  The  facts  show  that  there  are  several  times  as  much 
shift-work  outside  of  the  steel  industry  as  there  is  in  it,  and 
approximately  as  many  men  working  twelve  hours.  The 
other  industries  have  had  many  times  as  much  experience 
in  changing  from  two  to  three  shifts.  In  these  industries, 
moreover,  the  elimination  of  what  remains  of  the  twelve-hour 
shift  presents  a  more  complicated  problem. 

Not  only  has  there  been  little  information  available  re- 
garding the  twelve-hour  day  in  the  continuous-industries,  but 
only  very  fragmentary  attention  has  been  given  by  those  most 
concerned.  It  was  only  with  much  difficulty  that  even  the 
names  of  the  continuous-industries  could  be  ascertained.  It 
has  been  rare  to  find  any  one  person,  whether  government 
official,  leader  of  industry,  labor  leader,  or  general  student  of 
industrial  problems  who  could  give  the  names  of  more  than  a 
few  such  industries.  In  the  great  majority  of  cases  it  was  not 
believed  by  members  of  these  groups  that  there  was  in  exist- 
ence such  a  thing  as  a  twelve-hour  day,  save  for  the  reports 
which  had  been  heard  concerning  it  in  the  steel  industry. 
Even  in  the  case  of  the  trade  associations  in  the  continuous- 
industries,  and  of  individuals  who  have  had  wide  and  lifelong 
knowledge  of  these  industries,  as  a  rule  no  one  is  informed 
correctly  regarding  shift  practice.  Hardly  a  person  can 
speak  with  assurance  or  accuracy  regarding  the  practice  in 
the  various  sections  of  the  country  in  the  matter  of  two-shift 
or  three-shift  operation. 

Strangest  of  all,  the  managers  of  continuous  plants  are 
not  themselves  informed  regarding  shift  operation  in  other 
plants  in  the  same  industry.  In  most  cases  managers  know 
what   rates   of  wages   are  paid   by  their  competitors,    and 


34      THE  TWELVE-HOUR  SHIFT  IN  INDUSTRY 

whether  their  men  are  organized,  hut  are  uncertain  as  to  what 
shifts  are  run.  In  case  they  are  posted  they  usually  have  no 
clear  idea  as  to  how  shift  systems  have  worked  out.  With  few 
exceptions  they  are  in  almost  absolute  ignorance  of  what  the 
practice  is  in  other  sections  of  the  country.  There  is,  of 
course,  an  approach  to  knowledge  on  all  these  subjects. 
There  are  rumors  and  surmises  with  regard  to  what  may  bo 
done  here  or  there,  and  occasionally  definite  knowledge.  But 
the  difference  between  what  is  believed  and  what  is  actually 
the  fact  is  often  exceedingly  great. 

PURPOSE  OF  THIS  INVESTIGATION 
The  object  of  this  investigation  has  been  to  ascertain : 

1.  What  is  the  extent  of  continuous  work  in  American 

industry  ? 

2.  What  are  the  alternatives  to  the  twelve-hour  shift  ? 

3.  Are  there  technical  diflBculties  in  changing  from  two- 

shift  operation? 

4.  What  are  the  factors  to  be  considered  in  changing  from 

two-shift  to  three-shift  operation  ? 

5.  How  does  the  change  from  two-shift  to  three-shift 

operation  affect  the  number  of  shift-workers  ? 

6.  What  is  the  effect  of  eight-hour  as  compared  with 

twelve-hour  shift  operation  on  the  quantity  and 
quality  of  production,  absenteeism,  labor  turnover 
and  industrial  accidents  ? 

7.  How  do  wage-rates  on  eight-hour  shift  operation  com- 

pare with  wage-rates  on  twelve-hour  shift  operation  ? 

8.  What  is  the  general  opinion  of  managers  of  three-shift 

plants  regarding  three-shift  as  compared  with  two- 
shift  operation  ? 

9.  Do  employees  make  good  use  of  the  increased  hours 

of  leisure? 
10.  To  what  extent  have  plants  reverted  to  two-shift  opera- 
tion ? 


CHAPTER  V 

THE  CO]^TINUOUS-INDUSTRIES— SCOPE  AND 
METHOD  OF  THE  INVESTIGATION 

THE  CONTINUOUS-INDUSTKIES 

EoR  the  purposes  of  this  investigation  the  continuous- 
industries  may  be  roughly  arranged  in  four  groups,  in 
accordance  with  what  are  conceived  to  be  the  reasons  for  their 
being  continuous.    These  groups  may  be  designated  as : 

Group      I.  Heat-process  industries. 

Group    II.  Chemical  industries. 

Group  III.  Heavy  equipment  industries. 

Group  IV.  Service  industries. 

They  are  exhibited  in  the  following  table: 

TABLE  1 
The  Leading  Continuous-Industries 

Group  I.  Heat-Process  Industries 


Iron  and  steel 

Glass 

Coke  used  in 

making  steel 

Flint  glass 

Non-ferrous  metals 

Bottles 

Copper 

Window  glass 

Zinc 

Plate  glass 

Lead 

Portland  cement 

Nickel 

Lime 

Aluminum 

Brick 
Pottery  » 

*  Usually  only  two  or  three  per  cent,  of  employees  are  shift -workers. 

35 


36      THE  TWELVE-HOUR  SHIFT  IN  INDUSTRY 

TABLE  l.—Conlimied 

Group  II.  Chemical  Industries 

Heavy  chemicals  Electro-chemical  industries 

Fertilizers  Sugar 

Explosives  Louisiana  cane  sugar 

Dyes  Refining  of  imported  sugar 

Industrial  alconol  Beet  sugar 

Wood  distillation  Table  salt 

Refined  corn  products  Petroleum 

Soap  2  Cottonseed  oil 

Glue  Linseed  and  other  oils 

Drugs,  perfumes,  fine  chemicals 

Group  III.  Heavy  Equipment  Industries 

Paper  Bakeries  ^ 

Flour  Automobiles  * 

Rubber  Textiles  ^ 

Breakfast  foods  Mines 

Group  IV.  Service  Industries 

Electricity,  power  of  all  kinds  Street  railways 

Gas  Telegraph  and  telephone 

Water  supply  Mails  and  express 

Ice  Policemen,  firemen 

Shipping  Watchmen 

Railroads 

'  Only  a  few  soap  plants  operate  continuously. 
'  Operated  as  continuous- industry  only  in  certain  localities. 
*  The  Ford  plant  is  operated  continuously,  some  other  plants  most  of 
the  twenty-four  hours. 

°  Not  usually  continuously. 

Heat-process  Industries. 

The  first  of  the  four  groups,  and  the  most  important  in 
the  extent  of  continuous  work,  is  made  up  of  heat-process 
industries.  The  obvious  reason  for  their  operating  contin- 
uously is  the  loss,  often  the  prohibitive  loss,  which  would 
come  from  allowing  materials  and  furnaces  to  cool  down  and 
then  start  up  again  every  day  in  the  week.  Indeed,  some  of 
the  processes,  as  those  in  blast-furnaces  and  continuous  glass 


THE  CONTINUOUS-INDUSTRIES  37 

tanks,  require  several  months  to  get  into  the  best  working 
shape,  and  entirely  different  methods  would  have  to  be  fol- 
lowed if  the  furnace  work  were  to  be  confined  to  eight  or  ten 
hours  a  day.  In  a  sense,  of  course,  these  industries  are 
usually  chemical  industries  as  well. 

The  heat-process  industries  as  a  whole  fall  into  two  major 
subdivisions : 

1.  The  metallurgical ; 

2.  Industries  which  burn  or  melt  stone,  sand,  or  clay  to 

make  glass,  cement,  lime,  brick,  tile,  pottery,  etc., 
which  will  be  referred  to  as  the  ceramic  group. 

Among  the  metallurgical  industries,  the  steel  industry  is 
preeminent,  as,  indeed,  it  is  first  among  all  the  continuous- 
operation  industries.  This  industry  is  continuous  in  char- 
acter in  almost  all  of  its  fundamental  branches.  Because  of 
its  size  and  the  large  proportion  of  continuous  work,  and  also 
because  it  has  been  one  of  the  slower  of  the  continuous-indus- 
tries to  move  towards  the  abandonment  of  the  twelve-hour 
shift,  it  is  almost  as  important  a  factor  in  the  field  of  this 
study  as  all  the  other  continuous-industries  put  together. 
The  metal  industries,  other  than  steel,  are  at  the  present  time 
almost  without  exception  on  a  three-shift  basis. 

In  the  ceramic  group,  there  are  a  number  of  industries  in 
which  the  main  work,  so  far  as  labor  is  concerned,  is  not  con- 
tinuous, but  consists  in  the  daytime  shaping  and  movement 
of  bricks,  tile,  terra  cotta,  etc.  But  the  technically  important 
process  of  burning  the  finished  ware  is  continuous,  as  is  also 
the  operation  of  the  power  plants.  In  a  typical  twelve-hour 
brick  plant  (burning  coal),  about  11  per  cent,  of  the  men 
arc  shift-workers.  In  terra  cotta  and  pottery,  the  per  cent, 
would  be  much  smaller  (perhaps  3  per  cent.).  Lime,  on  the 
other  hand,  calls  for  a  considerably  larger  proportion  of  shift- 
workers    (perhaps    15   per   cent.).      Cement   is   continuous- 

n»  1  n  •>  '> 

V/    i.     J'    r»/    r^ 


38      THE  TWELVE-HOUR  SHIFT  IN  INDUSTRY 

operation,  not  only  in  burning,  but,  as  a  rule,  in  the  major 
grinding  operations  which,  together  with  the  burning,  make 
up  the  substance  of  the  industry.  The  proportion  of  shift- 
workers  in  the  various  branches  of  the  glass  industry  varies 
widely. 

Excepting  glass,  all  the  industries  in  the  ceramic  group 
are  predominantly  operated  on  two  shifts.  Glass  is  mainly 
a  three-shift  industry  (so  far  as  there  is  shift-work  at  all). 

Chemical  Industries. 

The  chemical  industries  are  considerably  more  numerous 
and  diversified  than  the  heat-process  industries,  but  usually 
not  large  individually.  Nearly  all  of  the  chemical  industries 
have  some  continuous-process  work ;  but  usually  only  a  part  of 
the  process  is  continuous,  and  usually  the  number  of  men  em- 
ployed in  the  continuous-operation  departments  is  relatively 
not  large.  A  few  men  can  handle  a  great  tonnage  of  acids  or 
fats.  Even  where  the  continuous-operation  equipment  bulks 
large,  a  substantial  majority  of  the  employees  may  be  on  other 
than  shift-work.  The  more  important  industries  in  Group 
II,  in  point  of  number  of  shift  employees,  are  on  the  border 
line  between  the  chemical  and  heat-process  industries,  or  be- 
tween the  chemical  industries  and  those  whose  chief  distinc- 
tion is  their  heavy  equipment.  Particular  cases  are  the  refin- 
ing of  petroleum,  the  crushing  of  cottonseed,  and  the  sugar 
industry.  Petroleum  refining  is  on  three  shifts.  Cottonseed 
oil  manufacture,  fertilizers,  and  the  bulk  of  the  sugar  indus- 
try, are  on  two  shifts.  Most  of  the  other  chemical  industries 
are  partly  on  three  shifts,  partly  on  two  shifts,  with  the  pre- 
ponderance in  favor  of  three  shifts. 

Heavy-Equipment  Industries. 

The  term  "heavy  equipment" — or  "elaborate  equipment" 
suggests  a  third  great  cause  for  continuous-operation.     It  is 


THE  CONTINUOUS-INDUSTRIES  39 

one  of  the  most  significant  causes,  for  in  a  way  it  underlies 
much  of  the  continuous-operation  in  all  of  the  groups  named. 
A  common  designation  for  the  unit  of  operation  in  a  ''heavy- 
equipment"  industry  is  "mill."  "Mills"  are  often  at  the 
heart  of  continuous-operation  in  industries  of  the  most  diverse 
type.  They  may  be  heavy  mills,  such  as  are  used  in  the  steel 
industry  or  in  cane  or  cottonseed  crushing,  or  small  mills  such 
as  are  to  be  found  in  the  flour  industry.  But  the  equipment  of 
a  plant  need  not  include  a  mill  in  the  narrow  sense  of  that 
term — revolving  apparatus — in  order  to  cause  continuous- 
operation.  Wherever  there  is  heavy  overhead  and  the  pos- 
sibility of  increasing  output  greatly  by  employing  a  relatively 
small  number  of  men  to  keep  the  equipment  going  contin- 
uously, there  is  a  strong  tendency  towards  continuous-opera- 
tion. Indeed,  continuous-operation  may  develop  even  where 
the  number  of  employees  is  large,  especially  in  rapidly  ex- 
panding industries,  or  in  times  of  great  demand.  Associated 
with  the  desire  to  save  on  overhead  expense  and  turn  out  large 
output  without  multiplying  equipment  there  are  also  substan- 
tial technical  conveniences  favoring  the  uninterrupted  opera- 
tion of  certain  types  of  mills  or  other  heavy  equipment.  For 
example,  in  the  paper  industry  it  is  a  costly  and  hazardous 
matter  (from  the  equipment  standpoint)  to  stop  and  start 
the  mills. 

While  this  matter  of  heavy  equipment  is  an  important 
factor  in  many  of  the  continuous-industries,  it  stands  almost 
alone  as  a  factor  making  for  continuous-operation  in  the  case 
of  the  industries  listed  in  the  table  as  Group  III.  Several  of 
these  industries  are  not  as  a  whole  on  continuous-operation, 
but  they  are  listed  as  being  the  seat  of  continuous-operation 
in  certain  plants  at  certain  times.  It  must  be  remembered 
that  the  influence  for  continuous-operation  of  heavy  equip- 
ment extends  far  outside  of  the  industries  listed  as  Group  III. 


40      THE  TWELVE-HOUR  SHIFT  IN  INDUSTRY 

Service  Industries. 

The  fourth  group  is,  technically  considered,  of  a  miscel- 
laneous character.  It  consists,  with  a  few  exceptions,  of  pub- 
lic-service industries.  A  principal,  though  not  always  the 
only,  reason  for  the  continuous-operation  of  these  industries 
is  the  fact  that  the  services  which  they  render  are  needed  both 
by  day  and  by  night.  But  the  service  by  night  is  not  neces- 
sarily equal  to  the  service  by  day,  and  the  industries  present 
many  irregularities. 

The  lines  of  division  between  the  four  groups  presented 
are  far  from  rigid,  the  groups  overlapping  to  some  extent. 
Yet  the  arrangement  of  the  industries  in  this  fashion  should 
be  of  assistance  in  bringing  out  the  four  forces  in  modern 
industry  which  make  for  continuous-operation. 


TECHNICAL  IMPOETANCE  OP  THE  CONTINUOUS-INDUSTEIES 

It  would  be  hard  to  overstate  the  technical  importance  of 
the  continuous-industries.  Our  contact  with  their  products 
is  as  intimate  as  our  knowledge  of  the  breakfast  table — as 
witness  sugar  and  salt,  the  breakfast  food,  bread,  the  silver  on 
the  table,  the  china,  the  glass,  the  ice  in  the  water,  and  even 
the  luater  itself.  It  was  a  continuous-industry  which  supplied 
the  gas  for  cooking,  the  electricity  for  lighting,  also  the 
plaster  for  the  walls,  paper  to  cover  them,  perhaps  the  very 
colors  in  the  paper.  We  can  little  more  than  suggest  the 
innumerable  objects  of  metal  or  the  ceramic  arts  which  serve 
a  useful  or  decorative  purpose  in  almost  every  interior. 

Note  the  place  which  the  products  of  the  continuous-in- 
dustries occupy  in  the  more  general  framework  of  a  city. 
Consider  steel,  concrete,  brick,  glass,  terra  coita,  cement, 
paving  brick,  steel  rails.  Consider  such  services  as  those  of 
police  and  fire  protection;  watchman  service;  electiicity; 
communication ;  and  transportation.     Consider  the  ramifica- 


THE  CONTINUOUS-INDUSTRIES  41 

tions  of  tlie  chemical  industries,  and  the  innumerable  uses  of 
the  metals^  clay  products,  paper,  'power. 

It  would  seem  that  with  the  rapid  expansion  of  the  chem- 
ical industries,  with  the  constant  introduction  of  more  heavy 
and  expensive  machinery,  and  with  the  greater  attention  paid 
to  securing  maximum  output  from  equipment,  the  importance 
of  the  continuous-industries  will  in  the  future  be  greater  than 
at  present. 

AMOUNT  OF  SHIFT-WORK 

The  problem  of  labor-shifts  in  the  continuous-industries 
IS  of  somewhat  less  magnitude  than  the  technical  importance 
of  the  industries  would  suggest.  Taking  the  country's  indus- 
tries as  a  whole,  the  continuous-operation  stage  usually  comes 
at  a  point  where  products  are  handled  in  bulk.  The  indus- 
tries which  require  large  numbers  of  workmen  are  those 
which  finish  or  fabricate,  and  as  a  rule  these  industries  are  on 
a  day-work  basis.  In  the  continuous-industries  it  is  very 
rarely  that  all  the  employees  are  on  shift-work.  In  general, 
the  process  men  are  on  shift-work.  But  the  mechanics  who 
construct  and  repair  equipment,  the  common  labor  that  loads 
and  unloads  cars  and  handles  materials,  the  men  and  women 
who  pack  and  ship  goods,  as  well  as  those  in  finishing  depart- 
ments of  various  kinds,  are  on  day-work  only.  So  that  in 
industries  that  seem  thoroughly  "continuous-process,"  the 
proportion  of  shift-workers  frequently  falls  a  little  short  of 
50  per  cent.  Often  it  is  in  the  neighborhood  of  .30  or  40  per 
cent.  There  are  some  partly-continuous-industries  in  which 
the  proportion  of  shift-workers  hardly  runs  over  10  per  cent., 
if  it  is  indeed  that  large.  On  tlie  other  hand,  there  are  sub- 
stantial industries,  such  as  cottonseed  crushing  and  beet-sugar 
refining,  in  which  the  proportion  of  shift-workers  is  very  close 
to  100  per  cent.  Also  some  of  the  largest  of  the  steel  com- 
panies have  had  as  high  as  two-thirds  of  all  their  employees 


42      THE  TWELVE-HOUR  SHIFT  IN  INDUSTRY 

on  shift-work,  wliile  a  ratio  of  50  per  cent,  of  shift  employees 
is  not  at  all  uncommon. 

Nevertheless,  even  counting  only  the  employees  actually 
on  continuous  work  it  is  evident  that  the  problem  of  two- 
shift  versus  three-shift  operation  is  important.  So  far  as 
can  be  judged  from  all  available  evidence  there  are  between 
500,000  and  1,000,000  American  wage-earners  on  shift-work. 
Of  these,  probably  300,000  or  not  far  from  that  number, 
were,  at  the  close  of  the  last  period  of  normal  industrial  ac- 
tivity, still  working  twelve  hours.* 

METHOD  OF  SECUEING  DATA— VISITS  TO  PLANTS 

The  investigation  of  shifts  in  continuous-industry  has 
been  rendered  more  difficult  by  the  fact  that  the  continuous 
workers  are  scattered,  not  only  in  many  different  industries, 
but  often  in  relatively  small  groups  in  plants  where  they  are 
outnumbered  by  day-workers.  Their  diffusion  among  day- 
workers  accounts  for  the  lack  of  statistics  covering  their  num- 
ber. Doubtless,  also,  the  absence  in  most  cases  of  mass  effect 
is  one  of  the  reasons  why  so  little  study  has  been  given  the 
problem  of  the  twelve-hour  worker. 

These  peculiarities,  as  well  as  the  widespread  lack  of  in- 
formation, have  prescribed  rather  definitely  the  course  which 
had  to  be  followed  in  the  making  of  this  investigation.  To 
form  anything  like  a  correct  or  comprehensive  view  of  the 
subject  it  has  been  necessary  to  go  into  the  field  and  hunt  the 
continuous  plants,  in  as  wide  an  expanse  of  the  country  as 
possible. 

•As  already  pointed  out  (see  page  31),  there  are  no  statistics  cover- 
ing this  subject.  In  arriving  at  the  above  estimates,  consideration  was 
given  to  the  number  of  men  reported  in  the  census  as  employed  in  each 
industry,  and  to  evidence  collected  in  the  field  with  regard  to  the  propor- 
tion of  twelve-hour  workers.  Use  was  also  made  of  siich  other  statistical 
data  as  was  available.  But  the  estimates  are  necessarily  very  rough. 
This  applies  to  the  figures  for  all  shift-worker^,  as  well  as  to  those  for 
twelve-hour  workers. 


THE  CONTINUOUS-INDUSTRIES 


43 


Extent  of  Country  Covered. 

Each  continuous-industry  has  its  several  strongholds  in 
particular  sections  of  the  country,  and  those  were  especially 
visited.  But  many  plants,  large  and  small,  were  also  visited 
in  other  parts  of  the  country.  Table  2  shows  the  localities 
in  which  plants  were  studied  or  their  managers  consulted  in 
person.  Information  was  received  by  correspondence  from 
maiiy  other  points. 

TABLE  2 

Places  Visited  for  Investigation 


New  York  City 

Buffalo 

Metuchen,  N.  J. 

Camden,  N.  J. 

Glass     manufacturing     points     in 

southern  New  Jersey 
Bethlehem,    Allentown,    Nazareth, 

Palmerton,  and  other  points  in 

Lehigh  Valley,  Penn. 
Philadelphia,    and    nearby    Penn. 

points 
Pittsburgh,    and    numerous    cities 

within  radius  of  40  miles 
Sharon,  Pa. 
Washington,  D.  C. 
Richmond 
Atlanta 
Birmingham 
Chattanooga,    and   Richard   City, 

Tenn. 
Copper  Hill,  and  Knoxville,  Tenn. 
Newell,  and  New  Cumberland,  W. 

Va. 
Newport,  Ky, 
Cleveland 
Akron 
Youngstown 


Canton,  Ohio 

East  Liverpool,  Ohio 

Columbus 

Cincinnati,  and  suburbs 

Middletown,  Ohio 

Franklin,  Ohio 

Miamisburg,    and   W.    Carrollton, 

Ohio 
Dayton 
Toledo 
Detroit 
Michigan    cities    along    St.    Clair 

River 
Saginaw 
Battle  Creek 
Kalamazoo 
Terre  Haute 
Chicago 
Gary 

Danville,  111. 
Granite  City,  III. 
Minneapolis 
St.  Louis 

Kansas  City,  Kansas 
Denver 
Pueblo 


The  survey  thus  conducted  could  not  in  the  nature  of  the 
case  be  complete.    But  the  study  was  carried  to  a  point  where 


44      THE  TWELVE-HOUR  SHIFT  IN  INDUSTRY 

it  was  believed  that  it  would  give  a  substantially  correct  view 
regarding  the  size  and  nature  of  the  shift  problem  in  the 
United  States. 

Statements  hy  Officers  of  Plants. 

While  many  sources  of  information  have  been  used,  the 
report  is  based  in  the  main  on  the  statements  of  officers  of  the 
continuous-industry  plants. 


CHAPTER  VI 
THE  METAL  INDUSTRIES 

IRON  AND  STEEL 

The  steel  industry  has  received  separate  consideration  in 
three  special  reports  which  may  be  considered  as  parts  of  the 
present  investigation/  In  order,  however,  that  this,  by  far 
the  most  important  of  the  continuous-industries,  may  not  be- 
omitted  from  the  general  survey  here  given,  there  will  be 
inserted  a  sketch  of  the  situation  in  it  as  respects  hours. 
Opportunity  will  be  taken  to  sum  up  briefly  the  conclusions 
regarding  the  working  of  the  three-shift  system,  which  were 
reached  in  the  earlier  investigations  of  the  subject;  and  to 
add  a  few  statements  which  will  bring  down  to  date  the  im- 
portant phases  of  the  evidence  there  presented. 

The  Old  Basis — a  Two-shift  Day. 

For  almost  a  generation,  a  few  minor  branches  of  iron 
and  steel  making  have  been  operated  on  three  shifts,  or  an 
approximate  equivalent.  This  has  been  true  of  the  making  of 
wrought  iron  and  of  what  are  known  as  "hot  mills"  in  sheet 

*  See  "The  three-shift  system  in  the  steel  industry,"  a  paper  read 
by  the  writer  before  a  joint  meeting  of  the  Taylor  Society,  the  Metro- 
politan and  Management  Sections  of  the  American  Society  of  Mechanical 
Engineers,  and  the  New  York  Section  of  the  American  Institute  of 
Electrical  Engineers,  in  New  York,  December  3,  1920,  and  published  in 
the  February,  1921,  issue  of  the  Bulletin  of  the  Taylor  Society.  A  more' 
analytical  study  by  the  same  writer  entitled  * '  The  Technique  of  Changing 
from  the  Two-shift  to  the  Three-shift  System  in  the  Steel  Industry"  was 
prepared  for  the  Cabot  Fund,  and  a  small  edition  privately  distributed 
in  May,  1922.  This  has  not  yet  been  released  for  general  publication. 
See  also  Mr.  Bradley  Stoughtou's  report  on  steel  in  Part  III  of  this 
volume. 

45 


46      THE  TWELVE-HOUR  SHIFT  IN  INDUSTRY 

mills.  Here  and  there  a  few  specially  difficult  jobs  have  been 
on  eight  hours;  and  once  in  a  great  while,  an  entire  depart- 
ment. But  these  places  where  custom  has  long  established  an 
eight-hour  shift  occupy  a  small  place  in  the  steel  industry 
as  a  whole.  Prior  to  the  AVar,  the  major  branches  of  the  steel 
industry  were,  practically  without  exception,  operated  on  a 
two-shift  basis.  About  one-half,  or  a  little  less  than  one-half, 
of  the  employees  in  the  continuous-plants  were  on  day-work, 
which  was  usually  ten  hours.  The  other  half  (or  more)  of 
the  employees  worked  twelve  hours,  or  an  alternation  of 
eleven  hours  one  week  and  thirteen  the  next  (or  ten  hours 
one  week  and  fourteen  the  next).  In  1919,  the  United  States 
Steel  Corporation  gave  the  number  of  its  twelve-hour  em- 
ployees as  between  69,000  and  70,000  and  the  number  in  the 
entire  industry  probably  ran  as  high  as  150,000. 

Formerly,  steel  plants  were  also  on  a  seven-day  week. 
But  beginning  about  a  dozen  years  ago,  efforts  have  been 
made  to  reduce  the  volume  of  seven-day  work.  Seven-day 
work  is  almost  entirely  extinct  in  rolling  mills  and  to  a  large 
degree  is  absent  in  open-hearth  and  Bessemer  work  (though 
when  business  is  normal  a  considerable  proportion  of  the 
"Independents"  still  operate  their  open-hearth  furnaces  a 
full  seven  days).  By-product  coke  ovens  and  blast-furnaces 
must,  however,  run  seven  days  a  week.  In  these  branches  of 
the  industry  the  Steel  Corporation  and  some  of  the  "inde- 
pendents" have  adopted  arrangements  by  which  the  individ- 
ual men  are  relieved  one  day  in  the  week.  Others  among  the 
"independents"  still  employ  the  men  in  these  departments  a 
full  seven  days  a  week. 

At  one  time  it  was  thought  that  the  steel  industry  could 
not  be  operated  on  any  other  basis  than  two  shifts.  Later, 
any  tendency  towards  shortening  hours  was  counteracted  by 
the  introduction  of  labor-saving  machinery;  which  has  gone 
80  far  in  the  steel  industry  as  practically  to  remove  the  strain 


THE  METAL  INDUSTRIES  47 

from  the  majority  of  jobs.  Furthermore,  such  work  as  is  left 
is  generally  intermittent,  so  that,  in  most  cases,  the  twelve- 
hour  steel  worker  does  not  actually  work  more  than  six  or 
seven  hours.  Combined  with  these  conditions,  which  seem 
to  make  a  twelve-hour  shift  feasible  from  the  physical  stand- 
point, there  were  many,  especially  among  the  foreign-born 
steel  workers,  who  were  willing  and  eager  to  work  for  as  long 
as  twelve  hours,  provided  that  by  so  doing  they  could  earn 
slightly  more  money.  Finally,  the  tendency  towards  ten  or 
eleven  hours  for  the  day  shift,  and  thirteen  or  fourteen  for 
the  night  shift,  represented  a  crude  approach  to  a  ten-hour 
day,  for  on  the  long  night  shifts  there  was  usually  a  certain 
amount  of  sleeping.  All  of  these  considerations  together 
somewhat  mitigate — but  they  are  not  a  satisfactory  solution 
of — the  fact  that  an  average  daily  employment  of  twelve 
hours,  added  to  the  hour  or  so  lost  in  coming  and  going, 
keeps  a  man  away  from  his  family  or  his  other  outside 
interests  too  large  a  portion  of  his  waking  hours. 

Tendencies  Toward  Shorter  Shifts. 

During  the  War,  there  was  some  tendency  towards  three 
shifts  in  the  steel  industry,  in  harmony  with  the  larger  move- 
ment in  this  direction  which  was  taking  place  outside.  But 
the  movement  did  not  reach  very  large  proportions,  partly 
because  there  was  in  the  industry  an  acute  shortage  of  labor, 
and  in  steel  towns  a  shortage  of  houses,  which  made  the  large 
companies  hesitate  to  attempt  to  put  on  an  extra  shift.  By  the 
end  of  1920,  about  twenty  of  the  "independent"  steel  plants 
■ — some  large,  but  more  of  them  small — had  changed  to  three 
shifts — a  number  impressive  enough  to  deserve  some  atten- 
tion, but  not  large  enough  to  affect  very  greatly  the  proportion 
of  twelve-hour  work  in  the  industry.  Thus  as  late  as  the  be- 
ginning of  the  present  period  of  depression,  the  steel  industry 


48      THE  TWELVE-HOUR  SHIFT  IN  INDUSTRY 

was  apparently  almost  as  fully  on  a  two-shift  basis  as  it  had 
ever  been. 

There  is,  however,  reason  lor  believing  that  a  changed 
attitude  had  been  developing,  influenced  by: 

1.  The  general  pressure  throughout  the  country  towards 

ohorter  hours. 

2.  The  steel  strike  of  1919. 

3.  The  attacks  on  the  twelve-hour  day  in  Congress. 

4.  The  Interchurch  Report  on  the  steel  industry. 

5.  The  conviction  on  the  part  of  many  steel  men  that  the 

twelve-hour  day  is  too  long  a  period  for  men  to 
work. 

Position  of  U.  S.  Steel  Corporation. 

The  Steel  Corporation  had  appointed  a  committee  em- 
powered to  consider  and  report  on  the  practicability  of  abol- 
ishing the  twelve-hour  day.  As  the  pressure  for  production 
and  the  shortage  of  labor  in  the  steel  industry  subsided  in  the 
fall  and  winter  of  1920-1921,  the  work  of  this  committee 
became  more  active.  A  number  of  statements  were  issued 
regarding  the  progress  of  the  committee's  work ;  and  finally, 
in  the  spring  of  1921,  Judge  Gary  issued  for  the  Corporation 
a  statement  to  the  effect  that  the  Corporation  hoped  to  be  able 
to  eliminate  the  twelve-hour  day,  as  the  difficulties  of  doing 
so  were  overcome. 

There  is  reason  for  believing  that  the  officers  of  the  Steel 
Corporation  regarded  the  statement  cited  as  a  definite 
declaration  of  policy  on  the  part  of  the  Corporation,  that  they 
intended  to  be  understood  as  announcing  a  program  of  abol- 
ishing the  twelve-hour  day  in  Corporation  plants  within  the 
course  of  a  year  or  so.  But  the  statement  was  embodied  in 
explanations  as  to  the  difficulties  in  the  way  of  abandoning 
twelve  hours.    It  came  at  a  time  when  throughout  the  coun- 


THE  METAL  INDUSTRIES  49 

try  there  was  a  tendency  towards  lengthening  rather  than 
shortening  hours.  The  Steel  Corporation's  proposed  course 
met  the  moral  opposition  of  some  of  the  "independent"  steel 
manufacturers.  The  investigator  found  during  his  studies  in 
1921  that  there  was  a  prevalent  impression  abroad  both 
among  the  "independent"  producers  and  the  outside  public, 
that  the  matter  of  abolishing  the  twelve-hour  day  in  the  plants 
of  the  Steel  Corporation  had  been  allowed  to  drop. 

Without  calling  into  question  the  sincerity  of  the  Corpora- 
tion's intention  of  eventually  eliminating  twelve-hour  work, 
there  can  be  no  question  but  that,  by  the  time  the  Corporation 
had  issued  its  statement,  conditions  were  rapidly  becoming 
less  favorable  for  changing  to  three  shifts.  A  moderate  slack- 
ening in  business  activity  would  have  been  favorable  to  intro- 
ducing a  third  shift;  but  the  depression  which  came  on  the 
steel  industry  was  so  severe  that,  while  it  interposed  no  me- 
chanical obstacle  to  going  to  three  shifts,  it  yet  had  the  effect 
of  turning  people's  thoughts  in  quite  other  directions.  There 
were  times  in  the  summer  of  1921  when  steel  production  fell 
to  as  low  as,  or  lower  than  30  per  cent,  of  normal.  The  aver- 
age hourly  earnings  of  twelve-hour  men,  taking  into  account 
the  abolition  of  overtime,  were  reduced  about  one-half.  Costs 
were  high,  compared  with  selling  prices ;  unemplojTaent  was 
very  large. 

Under  these  conditions  the  question  of  reorganizing  the 
system  of  shifts  in  the  steel  industry  was  perhaps  not  un- 
naturally put  in  the  background,  while  thought  was  turned 
on  problems  which  were  for  the  moment  more  grave.  More- 
over, men  hesitated  to  put  into  effect  a  reduction  of  hours  by 
one-third,  when  wages  had  just  gone  down  by  one-half;  or  to 
talk  of  making  changes  which  might  increase  cost,  when  cost 
was  already  above  selling  price.  What  enthusiasm  could  be 
aroused  for  getting  out  more  output,  when,  in  some  of  the 
plants,  at  least,  the  greater  the  output  the  greater  the  losses, 


50      THE  TWELVE-HOUR  SHIFT  IN  INDUSTRY 

or  for  reducing  the  labor  force  when  it  meant  discharging  key- 
men,  whom  it  was  desired  to  keep  on  the  pay  roll  ?  Why 
shorten  hours  when  men  were  fortunate  if  they  had  employ- 
ment one  week  out  of  two  ?  It  is  not  surprising,  considering 
the  many  harassing  circumstances,  that  for  some  months 
practically  no  thought  was  given  to  making  any  far-reaching 
changes  in  the  shift  system.^ 

Conditions  in  1921. 

There  was  no  reason,  however,  why  shifts  could  not  in 
many  cases  be  shortened  during  1921,  even  if  the  develop- 
ment of  a  permanent  three-shift  system  had  to  come  later.  In 
fact,  the  very  depression  and  accompanying  imemployment 
were  the  strongest  of  reasons  why  work  should,  wherever 
practicable,  be  divided  among  as  large  a  number  of  men  as 
possible  through  shortening  the  hours  worked  by  individual 
workers.  And  this  course,  was,  in  fact,  followed  to  a  large 
extent.  The  movement,  however,  had  its  drawbacks  and 
limitations.  In  some  cases,  the  older  and  more  valuable  em- 
ployees, whose  incomes  had  already  been  radically  affected 
by  cuts  in  the  hourly  rates  and  perhaps  by  temporary  transfer 
to  positions  below  their  regular  grade,  were  unwilling  to  have 
hours  reduced,  in  order  to  give  work  to  men  who  belonged  to 
the  less  stable  element  of  workers.  There  is  some  risk  in  a 
company's  going  too  far  in  giving  all  employees  a  small 
amount  of  work,  as  competitors  may  coax  away  the  pick  of 
the  employees  by  offering  full-time  employment.  This  gen- 
eral situation  was  the  cause  of  some  oscillation  between 
twelve-hour  and  eight-hour  shifts. 

*Late  in  1920  and  early  in  1021,  both  cxtornjil  conditions  and  scnti- 
ment  in  the  Steel  Corporation  and  anionp  many  of  the  "Independents" 
•were  favorable  for  chansinfr  from  a  two-shift  to  a  throe-shift  basis. 
Some  of  the  "Independents,"  boiiovinfr  ihat  the  Corporation  was  abmit 
to  make  such  a  chanpe.  had  thrir  new  manninrr  scales  ready.  Bnt  before 
the  Corporation  could  officially  make  up  its  mind,  conditions  had  changed 
so  that  the  situation  became  unfavorable  in  the  respects  just  enumerated. 


THE  METAL  INDUSTRIES  51 

Notwithstanding  the  circumstances  just  discussed,  the 
proportion  of  twelve-hour  work  in  the  steel  industry  was  ma- 
terially reduced  during  1921.  Most  of  the  reduction  in  hours 
was  by  way  of  putting  what  had  been  on  two  twelve-hour 
shifts  on  two  ten-hour  shifts,  or  by  having  as  much  of  the 
work  as  possible  done  by  day-workers.  Thus  the  Steel  Cor- 
poration ran  rolling  mills  on  ten-hour  shifts.  All  sorts  of 
arrangements,  as  twelve-,  ten-,  nine-,  eight-,  and  even  six-hour 
periods,  were  introduced.  Men  were  also  worked  a  week  and 
laid  off  a  week.  The  net  result  was  a  substantial  reduction  in 
the  amount  of  twelve-hour  work.  At  times  the  proportion  of 
twelve-hour  workers  in  plants  would  be  only  10  or  15  per 
cent.,  whereas  formerly  the  common  proportion  was  50  or 
more  per  cent.  The  tendency  was  to  retain  on  twelve-hour 
shifts  only  such  work  as  absolutely  had  to  be  continuous 
through  the  twenty-four  hours. 

While  some  of  these  innovations  of  1921  could  be  main- 
tained as  a  part  of  permanent  shift  policy,  yet  it  is  evident 
that  much  of  the  development  was  essentially  temporary. 
When  the  steel  industry  fully  recovers,  it  is  doubtful  if  large 
plants  will  want  to  run  their  rolling  mills  only  twenty  hours 
out  of  the  twenty-four.  Nor  did  the  steel  mills  in  1921  do 
much  to  lessen  the  proportion  of  twelve-hour  work  on  blast-fur- 
naces, open-hearth  furnaces,  or  other  continuous-process  work. 
In  the  absence  of  some  firmer  policy  than  was  followed  in 
1921,  there  would  likely  be  a  drifting  back  towards  the 
twelve-hour  day  in  the  steel  industry  as  times  improve. 

Present  Situation  and  Outlook. 

At  the  date  of  writing,  September,  1922,  the  indications 
are  that  the  steel  industry  plans  to  go  forward  rather  than 
back.  Addressing  the  annual  stockholders'  meeting  of  the 
Steel  Corporation  on  April  17,  1922,  Judge  Gary  announced: 
''Between  October,  1920,  and  March,  1922,  we  reduced  the 


52      THE  TWELVE-HOUR  SHIFT  IN  INDUSTRY 

twelve-hour  men  from  thirty-two  per  cent,  of  the  workmen 
to  fourteen  per  cent."  ^  On  May  18,  1922,  President  Hard- 
ing entertained  forty  or  fifty  of  the  country's  leading  steel 
men  at  a  White  House  dinner,  and  on  this  occasion  suggested 
to  them  the  importance  of  the  steel  industry's  giving  attention 
to  the  problem  of  eliminating  twelve-hour  work  before  busi- 
ness should  have  returned  to  its  full  volume.  Following  this 
dinner.  Judge  Gary,  as  President  of  the  American  Iron  and 
Steel  Institute,  appointed  a  committee  to  investigate  the  prac- 
ticability of  the  steel  industry  as  a  whole  abolishing  the 
twelve-hour  day.  This  important  change,  though  under 
serious  consideration,  is,  however,  yet  to  be  made. 

Hence  the  whole  question  as  to  the  relative  advantages  of 
the  two-shift  and  three-shift  systems  in  the  steel  industry — 
the  question  of  relative  efficiency,  relative  cost,  and  relative 
satisfaction — is  of  as  vital  importance  now  as  it  has  ever 
been  in  the  past. 

In  view  of  what  has  been  published  elsewhere  we  will  not 
undertake  for  the  steel  industry  a  detailed  presentation  of 
evidence  regarding  the  results  which  have  been  realized  in 
such  plants  as  have  gone  to  three  shifts.  It  is  opportune  to 
recall,  however,  that  when  the  three-shift  steel  plants  were 
studied  in  1920,  most  of  the  plants  reported  that  it  cost  some- 
what more  to  operate  on  three  shifts.  However,  in  almost  all 
cases,  the  managements  stated  that,  considering  the  intangible 
as  well  as  the  tangible  factors,  they  were  better  satisfied  with 
three-shift  than  with  two-shift  operation.  While  one  of  the 
larger  of  the  three-shift  })lants  mentioned  in  the  1920  report* 
went  back  to  two  shifts  at  the  beginning  of  1921  (as  was 
noted  in  the  paper  as  published),  stating  that  the  arrange- 

•  Presumably  these  statistics,  like  those  given  out  by  Judge  Gary  on 
previous  occasions,  are  for  the  pro[)()rtion  of  twelve-hour  men  among  all 
the  employees  of  the  Corporation,  including  those  in  coal  mines,  on  rail- 
roads, etc.  If  so,  the  percentage  of  twelve-hour  men  in  the  steel  plants 
proper  would  be  considerably  greater  than  the  figures  show. 

'The  Inland  Steel  Co. 


THE  METAL  INDUSTRIES  53 

ment  had  not  worked  well,  such  of  the  other  three-shift  plants 
as  the  writer  has  been  in  touch  with  have  remained  on  three 
shifts. 

In  fact,  the  evidence,  after  a  year  of  depression,  is  now 
rather  more  favorable  to  tliree-shifi,  operation  than  it  was 
in  1920.  This  would  seem  to  be  the  case  partly  because, 
down  to  the  close  of  1920,  conditions  were  not  favorable  for 
getting  the  greater  efficiency  which  might  be  expected  on 
shorter  hours,  and  partly  because  with  two  years'  additional 
experience  managements  now  have  both  more  skill,  and  more 
confidence  in  the  change. 

Thus  not  far  removed  from  the  company  which  in  1921 
returned  to  two  shifts,  another  plant,  engaged  in  all  the  stages 
of  steel  manufacturing  from  blast-furnace  to  rolling  mills, 
had  reported  in  1920  that  its  labor  costs  were  almost,  but  not 
quite,  as  low  on  three-shift  as  on  two-shift  operation.  The 
approximation  to  costs  as  low  as  they  had  been  on  two  shifts 
was,  however,  only  for  a  brief  period,  too  brief,  in  fact,  to 
make  it  the  basis  of  a  definite  statement  of  findings.  Just 
when  there  was  reason  to  hope  that  by  satisfactory  costs  main- 
tained during  a  six  months'  period,  it  could  be  shown  that  the 
three-shift  system  had  justified  itself  financially,  the  severe 
depression  began,  and  for  some  time  there  was  not  business 
enough  to  do  much  three-shift  operation,  nor  were  costs  com- 
parable with  what  they  had  ever  been  before.  But  this  com- 
pany did  not  abandon  the  three-shift  basis  as  a  princij)le,  and 
intends  to  continue  with  three  shifts  as  business  returns  to 
normal. 

Another  prominent  steel  company °  which  followed  a 
policy  of  paying  as  much  for  eight  as  for  twelve  hours,"  was 

'The  American  Kolling  Mill  Company. 

•Including  bonus.  The  company  set  up  a  minimum  wage  per  eight- 
hour  shift  for  each  ,iob  which  was  eleven-fourteenths  of  the  earnings  on 
tho  same  job  on  a  twelve-hour  basis.  To  this  was  added  a  bonus  arrange- 
ment by  which  the  men  could  make  as  much  on  the  eight -hour  shift  as 
they  had  on  the  twelve-hour  shift,  through  increase  in  production. 


54      THE  TWELVE-HOUR  SHIFT  IN  INDUSTRY 

cited  ill  the  1920  report  as  coming  out  almost  even.  But  at 
that  time  the  company  was  rehictaiit  to  pronounce  its  three- 
shift  system  a  permanent  success  until  it  had  withstood  de- 
jiression  as  well  as  prosperity.  In  the  fall  of  1921,  this  com- 
pany reported  that  in  its  producing  departments — open- 
hearth  and  rolling  mills — nothing  would  be  gained  by  going 
back  to  two  shifts.  In  the  service  departments  expenses 
would  be  cut  to  some  extent  if  the  company  were  willing  to 
go  back  to  two  shifts,  but  as  to  the  amount  of  the  loss  which 
three-shift  operation  meant  in  these  departments,  the  com- 
pany was  not  certain.  They  did  not  intend,  however,  to  go 
back  to  two  shifts. 

Another  three-shift  company,^  whose  plant  ranks  among 
the  largest  and  most  diversified  in  the  steel  industry,  and 
whose  employees  originally  petitioned  for  and  accepted  three 
shifts  on  a  basis  of  no  higher  earnings  per  hour  than  were 
paid  in  two-shift  plants,  reported  in  1920  that  its  manning 
had  increased  50  per  cent.  In  January,  1922,  this  company 
gave  the  increase  as  35  to  50  per  cent. ;  ^  and,  after  reiterating 
its  feeling  of  satisfaction  with  the  working  of  three  shifts 
added:  "We  are  strongly  opposed  to  twelve-hour  working 
shifts,  though  not  opposed  to  a  ten-hour  day  where  conditions 
seem  to  make  that  desirable.  We  believe  that  industry  in 
this  country  can  be  so  conducted  as  to  permit  of  eight-hour 
shifts  in  continuous  operations."  The  company  believes  that 
some  of  the  stronger-bodied  European  laborers  have  sought 
employment  in  the  East  where  thoy  can  work  twelve  hours 
and,  therefore,  earn  more  pay.    This,  however,  has  not  pre- 


'The  Colorado  Fuel  and  Iron  Company. 

*Thc  investigator  was  unable  to  determine  by  correspondence 
whether  this  represented  a  definite  improvement  due  to  the  passage  of 
time,  or  whether  it  was  mainly  a  differnce  in  the  way  of  putting  the 
figure,  the  latter  estimate  being  the  moie  earefully  made.  Owing, 
indeed,  to  many  chrsngos  in  operating  conditions,  the  company  reported 
that  it  would  be  difTicult,  if  not  impossible,  to  make  a  perfect  comparison. 


THE  METAL  INDUSTRIES  55 

vented  the  company  from  being  "strongly  in  favor  of  the 
eight-hour  shift." 

The  evidence  collected  in  1920  and  a  weighing  of  the  ex- 
perience of  1921  and  1922  would  indicate  that  it  is  doubtful 
whether  all  the  departments  of  a  steel  plant  can  be  operated 
as  cheaply  on  three  shifts  as  on  two  shifts,  if  the  men  receive 
as  much  pay  for  eight  hours  as  for  twelve.  But  there  is 
tangible  evidence,  strengthened  by  the  developments  of  the 
last  year,  which  indicates  that  under  active  and  able  manage- 
ment and  with  reasonable  cooperation  on  the  part  of  labor, 
costs  on  the  three-shift  system  can  be  kept  as  low  as  on  the 
two-shift  system,  provided  wage-rates  are  compromised  so 
that  eight-hour  men  receive  pay  equivalent  to  ten  hours'  in- 
stead of  twelve  hours'  pay.  Such  a  compromise,  or  even  one 
less  liberal,  is  ordinarily  satisfactory  to  the  men. 

At  the  same  time  care  should  be  taken  not  to  be  over- 
confident. Most  managements  do  not  give  the  attention 
which  they  might  give  to  the  matter  of  securing  the  highest 
attainable  degree  of  labor  efficiency;  so  that  it  is  probable 
that,  in  case  of  a  general  change  from  two  to  three  shifts  in 
the  steel  industry,  assuming  a  fifty-fifty  compromise  on  daily 
wages,  the  greater  proportion  of  the  plants  would,  for  the  time 
being  at  least,  note  some  increase  in  labor  cost.  But,  as  shown 
in  the  special  reports  on  steel  referred  to  above,  this  in- 
crease in  cost  could  not  be  large ;  and  there  is  no  reason  why 
it  should  not  be  practically  offset  by  intangible  improvements 
in  relations  and  operations,  due  to  the  plant's  being  on  a  more 
satisfying  day. 

It  is  vorv  significant  that,  during  the  late  period  of  very 
acute  depression,  exceedingly  few  companies,  either  in  the 
steel  industry  or  in  other  industries,  have  seen  fit  to  go  back 
from  eight-hour  to  twelve-hour  shifts. 


56      THE  T^VELVE-HOUR  SHIFT  IN  INDUSTRY 

THE  NON-FERROUS  METALS 

One  of  the  outstanding  facts  developed  by  the  present  in- 
vestigation has  been  the  variety  and  apparent  contradiction  in 
the  shift  arrangements  followed  in  the  different  continuous- 
industries  or  in  separate  sections  of  the  same  industry.  For 
instance,  the  steel  industry  has  continued  to  operate  largely 
on  the  two-shift  system  whereas  in  all  the  non-ferrous  metal 
industries  the  eight-hour  shift  became  general  long  ago  and 
is  now  practically  universal. 

The  processes  in  smelting  and  refining  ferrous  and  non- 
ferrous  metals  are  essentially  similar.  The  equipment  in  the 
way  of  furnaces,  converters,  and  rolling  mills  is  often  quite 
analogous.  Labor-saving  equipment,  indeed,  has  been  intro- 
duced more  generally  and  on  a  larger  scale  in  the  steel  indus- 
try than  is  true  of  the  non-ferrous  smelting  and  refining  plants, 
thus  lightening  human  labor  to  a  degree  which  makes  the  eight- 
hour  shift  less  necessary.  Fumes  or  other  undesirable  work- 
ing conditions  may  sometimes  argue  for  the  shorter  work 
period  more  strongly  in  the  non-ferrous  than  in  the  ferrous 
plants.  But  these  reasons  are  inadequate  to  account  for  the 
profound  difference  in  practice.  The  reason  does  not  lie  in 
the  nature  of  the  industries  or  of  the  work,  but  in  the  attitude 
of  employers  and  employees. 

The  three-shift  system  in  the  metal  industries  is  a  western 
development.  Originally  the  western  smelters  were  on 
twelve-hour  shifts.  But  all  inquiries  which  have  been  made 
of  mining  and  refining  companies  regarding  present  practice 
have  been  met  with  the  same  reply,  that  all  the  non-ferrous 
metal  plants  in  the  West  of  which  the  companies  have  knowl- 
edge are  on  tlireo  shifts,  the  change  usually  having  been  made 
twenty  or  thirty  years  ago."     Important  factors  in  bringing 

■  E.  E.  Thiini,  Associate  Editor  of  Chemical  and  Mctallnrgial  En- 
gincoiinjj,  wrote  to  tho  New  York  Times  under  date  of  March  9,  1921 
as  follows: 

"I  would  call  your  attention  to  the  fact  that  in  copper  and  lead 


THE  METAL  INDUSTRIES  57 

about  this  development  have  been  the  greater  strength  of  the 
unions  in  the  West  and  the  stronger  sentiment  there  in  favor 
of  shorter  hours. 

Although  the  evidence  collected  indicates  that  three  shifts 
long  ago  became  the  rule  in  the  non-ferrous  metal  industries 
of  the  West,  yet  the  outbreak  of  the  War  found  various  copper, 
zinc,  and  nickel  plants  in  the  East  and  South  still  operating 
two  twelve-hour  shifts.  The  abolition  of  the  twelve-hour  day 
in  the  non-ferrous  metal  industries  of  the  East  and  South  was 
a  development  of  the  War ;  but  it  has  been  so  complete  that 
extended  inquiry  has  failed  to  reveal  any  important  non- 
ferrous  metal  plant  in  any  part  of  the  country  which  is  not  at 
the  present  time  on  throe  shifts.  The  only  satisfactory  ex- 
planation for  the  diiference  between  the  course  of  the  steel 
industry  and  the  non-ferrous  metal  industries  in  the  East 
and  South  would  seem  to  lie  in  the  greater  mass  of  the  steel 
industry,  which  made  it  react  more  slowly  to  the  sudden 
external  pressure  which  accompanied  the  War,  and  also  made 
it  present  a  larger  problem  quantitatively,  particularly  in  a 
period  of  labor  shortage. 

Though  the  investigation  failed  to  disclose  any  important 
non-ferrous  metal  plant  which  is  on  two  shifts,  in  some  less 
important  places  some  twelve-hour  work  has  been  found. 
Two  shifts  are  still  the  practice  in  some  of  the  later-stage 
processes  in  the  lead  industry;  and  in  the  case  of  certain 

sincltors  the  oip;ht-hour  shift  is  very  common,  and  has  been  for  many 
yoars.  The  exact  date  when  the  ehan<je  from  the  twelve-liour  shift  to  the 
ci;,'ht-hoiir  shift  in  the  western  smelters  occurred  the  writer  cannot  def- 
initely state.  However,  lie  entered  the  employ  of  the  Anaconda  Copper 
Mining  Company  early  after  the  completion  of  their  Washoe  Smelter  in 
Anaconda — a  plant  which  rivals  many  of  the  Steel  Corporation's  plants 
in  size  and  uuudjor  of  employees — that  is  to  say,  nearly  twenty  years  ago. 
Men  at  that  plant  have  always  worked  on  the  three-shift  plan,  7  to  3, 
^  to  11,  11  to  7.  Since  that  time  I  have  traveled  rather  extensively  in 
the  United  States,  and  believe  1  have  visited  every  lead  or  copper  smelter 
west  of  the  Mississippi  Kiver,  and  in  none  of  these  plants  was  a  twelve- 
hour  shift  in  effect.  All  of  them  naturally  operate  furnaces  which  are  in 
blast  continuously  from  the  year's  beginning  to  its  end." 


58      THE  TWELVE-HOUR  SHIFT  IN  INDUSTRY 

auxiliary  jobs  in  the  making  of  alumimim.  The  twelve-hour 
shift  was  also  found  in  two  small  Philadelphia  plants  which 
prepare  miscellaneous  metals  and  alloys,  using  scrap  or  new 
metal.  A  more  exhaustive  analysis  might  show  other  odd 
places  in  which  twelve-hour  jobs  are  to  be  found.  But  in 
few  instances,  if  any,  are  twelve-hour  shifts  to  be  found  in 
the  primary  smelting,  refining,  or  rolling  processes  of  non- 
ferrous  metal  plants. 

Copper. 

No  copper  or  other  non-ferrous  metal  plants  located  west 
of  the  Mississippi  River  were  visited,  in  view  of  the  long 
time  which  has  elapsed  since  their  change  from  two  to  three 
shifts,  but  several  persons  active  in  the  management  of  such 
plants  were  consulted  in  the  East.  A  representative  of  the 
Anaconda  Copper  Company  was  of  the  opinion  that  their 
smelter  had  been  on  eight-hour  shifts  for  twenty-years — he 
was  of  the  opinion,  indeed,  that  they  had  never  been  on 
twelve-hour  shifts.  In  the  western  plants  of  the  American 
Smelting  and  Refining  Company  the  twelve-hour  shift  was 
abandoned  something  like  twenty  years  ago  and  now  day- 
workers  as  well  as  shift-workers  are  on  eight  hours. 

For  the  most  part,  the  details  of  what  happened  in  west- 
ern copper  and  other  non-ferrous  metal  plants  twenty  years 
ago  when  the  three-shift  system  was  established  have  passed 
from  memory.    Records  are  not  to  be  found. 

A  much  more  complete,  trustworthy  and  recent  concep- 
tion of  the  meaning  of  the  change  from  two  to  three  shifts  in 
the  metal  industries  can  be  obtained  by  noting  the  experience 
of  plants  in  the  East  or  South.  Some  of  the  eastern  plants 
went  to  three  shifts  under  unusual  war  conditions,  which 
introduced  abnormal  factors  into  the  transition.  But  the 
Tennessee  Copper  Company  changed  from  twelve-hour  to 
eight-hour  shifts  at  a  time  when  conditions  were  nearer  nor- 


THE  METAL  INDUSTRIES  69 

mal  than  at  almost  any  other  time  in  recent  years,  namely,  in 
February,  1919. 

The  Tennessee  Copper  Company  has  mines  and  a  smelter 
at  Copper  Hill,  Tennessee.  The  copper  ore  in  this  locality 
is  rich  in  sulphur,  so  that  a  large  sulphuric  acid  plant  has 
been  built  to  make  acid  out  of  the  smelter  fumes.  Acid  plant, 
smelter,  and  auxiliaries  together  require  about  five  hundred 
and  sixty  employees.    All  employees  are  white. 

The  change  to  three  shifts  was  made  largely  because  the 
company  at  that  time  adopted  a  policy  of  recognizing  and  bar- 
gaining with  the  union,  and  the  union  was  strong  for  eight 
hours.  The  agreement  made  with  the  unions  at  the  time  of 
reducing  hours  did  not  call  for  any  increase  in  hourly  wage 
rates.  In  fact,  there  was  some  actual  saving  to  the  company 
in  this  respect  because  of  the  cutting  out  of  overtime  work. 
But  wages  were  fixed  by  a  sliding  scale  agreement  which  did 
cause  the  rates  to  rise  later  on  in  1919.  Whereas  prior  to 
February  1,  the  pay  for  common  labor  was  four  dollars  and 
twenty  cents  for  a  twelve-hour  day  (thirty  cents  an  hour 
straight  time,  forty-five  cents  an  hour  overtime — average  for 
the  twelve  hours,  thirty-five  cents)  and  immediately  after 
February  1,  two  dollars  and  forty  cents  for  an  eight-hour 
day  (thirty  cents  an  hour)  in  time,  the  pay  rose  to  three  dol- 
lars and  forty-eight  cents  for  an  eight-hour  day.  Later  on 
wages  again  dropped.  At  the  beginning  of  1922  they  stood 
at  two  dollars  and  forty-eight  cents  for  an  eight-hour  day, 
or  thirty-one  cents  an  hour.  However,  at  many  times  the 
company  has  voluntarily  kept  wages  above  the  level  to  which 
they  would  have  fallen  under  the  sliding  scale.  The  rate  of 
thirty-one  cents  in  1922  was  about  29  per  cent,  higher  than 
the  standard  for  twelve-hour  work  in  the  South,  and  higher  by 
much  more  than  29  per  cent,  than  the  rate  paid  in  many 
plants.  So  on  the  wage  question  it  may  be  said  that  the  men 
in  this  plant  sought  and  accepted  the  eight-hour  shift  at  a 


60      THE  TWELVE-HOUR  SHIFT  IN  INDUSTRY 

sacrifice  of  more  than  one-third  of  their  earnings,  but  that 
the  company,  when  prices  and  wages  generally  went  to  lower 
levels,  saw  to  it  that  the  hourly  rates  were  maintained  at  a 
somewhat  higher  level  than  would  probably  have  been  the  case 
had  the  two-shift  system  been  retained.  This  wage  differen- 
tial was,  however,  nearer  25  or  30  than  50  per  cent. 

Whatever  burden  may  have  arisen  in  the  matter  of  wage- 
rates  was,  however,  more  than  off-set  by  increased  efficiency. 
Immediately  after  the  displacement  of  twelve-hour  by  eight- 
hour  shifts,  efficiency  improved.  It  kept  on  improving;  in- 
deed, some  of  the  most  substantial  improvements  came  in 
1921,  more  than  two  years  after  the  change.  Gain  in  effi- 
ciency came  through  several  channels.  A  great  many  jobs 
were  consolidated,  so  that  a  man  was  able  to  do  his  own  work 
and  that  of  others.  Thus  where  two  men  had  been  serving 
two  acid  towers  a  bridge  would  be  built  between  the  two  and 
one  man  would  serve  both.  Or  perhaps  three  jobs  would  be 
combined  to  form  two,  new  wage-rates  appropriate  to  the 
heavier  responsibility  being  established.  Coupled  with  the 
reduction  in  manning  there  has  also  been  an  increase  in  the 
tonnage  obtained  from  the  equipment,  as  respects  both  copper 
and  acid. 

As  illustration  of  the  tangible  character  of  the  gains  in 
efficiency,  an  output  of  30.49  tons  of  ore  per  man  daily  during 
January,  1921,  was  increased  to  35.42  tons  of  ore  per  man 
daily  in  September,  an  increase  of  16  per  cent.  These,  of 
course,  are  only  the  more  recent  of  the  gains  which  have  fol- 
lowed upon  shorter  hours.  Long  run  fig\ires  might  reflect 
better  the  improvement  in  its  entirety,  but  at  the  same  time 
would  be  more  apt  to  be  influenced  by  disturbing  factors.  It 
may  be  noted,  however,  that  a  comparison  of  production  as  it 
was  in  1913 — prior  to  the  War — under  the  two-shift  system, 
with  proflnction  in  1921  under  the  three-shift  system,  showed 
an  increase  of  28.8  per  cent,  in  the  tons  of  ore  smelted  per 


THE  METAL  INDUSTRIES  61 

man — this  in  spite  of  a  reduction  in  the  hours  of  smelter  and 
acid  employees  from  twelve  to  eight,  and  of  miners  (whom 
the  figures  include)  from  nine-and-a-half  to  eight. 

The  officers  of  the  company  recognize  that  a  change  to 
three  shifts  made  a  year  or  two  earlier  than  February,  1919, 
might  not  have  found  the  men  disposed  to  do  so  much  better. 
But,  while  the  termination  of  the  war  period  may  have  been 
a  more  or  less  necessary  condition  to  securing  greater  effi- 
ciency, this  is  to  be  regarded  only  as  the  removal  of  a  hin- 
drance, and  not  as  in  itself  the  cause  of  the  heightened 
efficiency.  It  is  also  to  be  noted  that  the  increased  efficiency 
came  mostly  in  connection  with  new  plans  for  manning 
worked  out  by  the  management,  and  was  aided  by  a  general 
improvement  in  the  relations  between  management  and  men 
due  to  efforts  made  along  various  lines  by  the  company.  But 
it  was  primarily  because  the  men  were  on  an  eight-hour  and 
not  a  twelve-hour  shift  that  the  management  felt  justified 
in  tightening  up  on  discipline,  and  was  able  to  succeed  with 
drastic  cuts  in  the  number  of  employees.  And  the  shortening 
of  hours  was  the  central  factor  in  the  improved  relations  and 
spirit  which  led  to  the  men's  better  response. 

This  complexity  of  cause  and  effect,  of  course,  makes  it 
difficult,  if  not  impossible,  to  find  any  precise  statistical 
formula  for  the  effect  on  efficiency  and  cost  of  going  from 
U\o  to  three  shifts.  But  the  investigation  showed  that  all 
the  heads  of  departments  at  Copper  Hill  were  agreed  that 
the  change  to  an  eight-hour  shift  had  been  of  benefit  to  the 
company.  Men  who  had  opposed  such  an  arrangement  had, 
after  three  years  of  trial,  become  enthusiastic. 

The  officers  in  charge  of  personnel  report  that  the  men  are 
much  better  satisfied  than  formerly :  The  company  has  been 
trying  to  work  in  cooperation  with  the  union  and  has  also 
established  machinery  for  receiving  and  handling  grievances. 
But  since  the  shortening  of  hours  operation  has  proceeded 


62      THE  TWELVE-HOUR  SHIFT  IN  INDUSTRY 

with  so  little  friction  that  the  grievance  committee  has  prac- 
tically ceased  to  function.  The  company  is  in  the  peculiar 
position  of  having  recognized  and  supported  rather  than 
antagonized  the  development  and  functioning  of  the  union, 
only  to  find  that  the  union  membership  has  been  falling  off, 
due  to  the  lessening  of  the  irritations  which  had  existed  while 
hours  were  long,  and  the  disinclination  of  the  men  under 
these  circumstances  to  pay  their  dues.  Furthermore  the  men 
work  more  regularly  than  while  on  the  twelve-hour  shift.  The 
company  has  not  noted  any  change  in  the  accident  rate  which 
could  be  attributed  to  the  change.  All  employees,  day-work- 
ers and  shift-workers,  are  on  eight  hours,  the  shift-workers 
constituting  about  45  per  cent,  of  the  total  force  (mines  not 
counted). 

Zinc. 

At  Palmerton,  Pa.,  is  located  the  main  plant  of  the  New 
Jersey  Zinc  Company,  producing  smelter,  zinc  oxide,  and 
lithopone  and  also  operating  two  regulation  blast  furnaces  for 
the  manufacture  of  spiegcl  iron.  The  plant  is,  in  fact,  a  steel 
as  well  as  a  zinc  plant.  Erom  60  to  70  per  cent,  of  the 
employees  are  on  shift-work,  the  chief  day-work  being  con- 
struction, repair-work,  and  shop-work. 

The  Palmerton  works  changed  from  two  to  three  shifts 
about  1915.  In  making  the  change  to  three  shifts  the  com- 
pany endeavored  not  to  increase  the  number  of  men.  This 
aim  they  approximated  but  did  not  fully  reach. 

The  main  product  of  the  Palmerton  plant  is  zinc  oxide. 
On  the  twelve-hour  shift,  a  man  pulled  six  fires  per  shift. 
On  the  eight-hour  shift  the  number  was  eight  fires  per  shift. 
Thus,  as  regards  this  particular  operation,  the  men  accom- 
plished more  in  eight  than  in  twelve  hours.  The  work  on 
the  twelve-hour  shift  had,  however,  been  heavier  than  it  is 
on  the  eight-hour  shift,  because  the  furnaces  formerly  had  to 


THE  METAL  INDUSTRIES  63 

be  charged  from  the  floor.     Under  the  present  arrangement 
there  is  a  saving  in  the  labor  of  shoveling. 

The  production  of  spelter  had,  under  the  two-shift  system, 
been  a  twenty-four-hour  job.  The  daily  campaign  in  this 
department  is  still  twenty-four  hours  long;  but  the  work  is 
divided  between  two  gangs  of  men  who  do  iiot  wait  for  relief. 
One  set  of  men  comes  on  at  5  a.  m.  with  certain  work  to  do, 
for  which  they  are  paid  so  much.  When  they  get  through 
they  go.  This  may  be  at  the  end  of  four  hours,  or  it  may 
take  six  or  seven  hours.  Later  on  the  other  set  of  men  do 
the  drawing.  In  this  department  the  company  was  able  to 
make  the  desired  reduction  in  hours  without  increasing  the 
force,  through  the  arrangement  described. 

The  blast  furnaces  were  an  exception.  These  were 
changed  to  three  shifts  about  a  year  later  than  the  rest  of  tlie 
plant.  In  a  few  cases  it  was  possible  to  arrange  the  manning 
so  that  one  man  could  serve  both  stacks;  but,  on  the  whole, 
there  was  little  saving  in  manning  of  the  blast  furnaces.  The 
men  now  have  about  an  hour-and-a-half  of  free  time  between 
casts.  But  the  company  believes  that,  even  under  the  eight- 
hour  shift,  the  men  should  have  that  much  rest. 

The  zinc  rolling  mills,  which  started  in  1917,  were  never 
on  twelve-hour  shifts.  In  1920,  they  were  on  three  eight- 
hour  shifts.  In  1921,  owing  to  slack  business,  they  ran  only 
one  nine-hour  shift. 

The  experience  at  Palmerton  throws  some  light  on  the 
question  as  to  what  is  apt  to  be  the  final  relation  between  wage- 
rates  in  twelve-  and  eight-hour  plants  after  a  series  of  wage 
advances  and  wiigc  declines  have  made  out-of-date  the  special 
adjustment  in  wages  made  at  the  time  of  changing  hours.  At 
the  time  of  going  to  three  shifts,  the  New  Jersey  Zinc  Com- 
pany made  a  liberal  adjustment  of  wage-rates,  thus  lessening 
the  financial  burden  which  would  have  had  to  be  borne  by 
the  men  because  of  going  to  shorter  hours.     However,  six 


04      THE  TWELVE-HOUR  SHIFT  IN  INDUSTRY 

years  of  ups  and  downs  in  the  general  labor  market  resulted 
by  l'J21  in  wages  in  this  eight-hour  plant  being  thirty-two 
cents  an  hour  for  men  newly  taken  on,  as  against  twenty- 
seven  cents  an  hour  for  the  twelve-hour  work  at  Bethlehem, 
and  thirty  cents  an  hour  for  twelve-hour  work  at  Pittsburgh. 
Thus  at  the  time  of  making  the  comparison,  these  other 
Pennsylvania  plants,  by  maintaining  a  twelve-hour  day,  were 
getting  men  to  work  only  from  two  to  five  cents  an  hour 
cheaper  than  the  rate  which  was  paid  men  who  worked  eight 
hours.  It  will  be  observed  that  the  efficiency  in  the  eight-hour 
shift  plant  had  been  increased  in  a  ratio  much  larger  than 
this  wage  differential. 

The  management  at  Palmerton  is  of  the  opinion  that  the 
costs  are  lower  under  the  eight-hour  shift  system  than  they 
were  under  the  two-shift  system.  They  think  it  ]:)ossible  that 
during  the  depression  of  1921  they  might  have  been  able  to 
put  their  men  back  on  two  siiifts  and  reduce  hourly  wage-rates. 
But  this  would  have  been  only  because  of  the  unusual  con- 
ditions then  existing.  Taking  a  ten-year  period,  they  think 
the  three-shift  system  would  be  more  profitable  than  the  two- 
shift  system. 

The  day-work  at  Palmerton  was  reduced  from  ten  to  nine 
hours. 

At  Palmerton,  as  well  as  elsewhere  in  the  zinc  industry, 
there  is  a  peculiar  variation  of  the  three-shift  sj'stem, 
probably  imported  from  abroad.  In  one  department,  there 
are  three  sets  of  men  working  six-hour  shifts  each.  Each 
gang  is  on  six  hours,  off  twelve  hours,  and  on  six  hours. 
Thus  the  men  come  to  work  six  hours  earlier  each  day,  and 
in  four  days  have  accomplished  a  complete  rotation.  The 
total  number  of  hours  worked  in  the  week  is,  of  course,  the 
same  as  though  they  had  worked  eight-hour  shifts. 


THE  METAL   INDUSTRIES  65 

Lead. 

Most  of  the  lead  produced  in  the  United  States  is  turned 
into  white  lead  (oxidized)  and  used  in  paint.  The  smelting 
of  lead  and  the  oxidizing  of  lead  is  carried  on  in  separate 
plants,  thus  dividing  the  industry  into  two  branches. 

The  principal  producer  of  white  lead  reports  that  in  lead- 
smelting  three  shifts  have  prevailed  for  many  years. 

But  this  is  not  true  of  the  oxidizing  plants.  The  great 
bulk  of  the  employees  in  an  oxidizing  plant  are  on  day-work 
only.  In  the  department  where  the  oxidation  actually  takes 
place  the  operation  is  continuous ;  and  such  shift-workers  as 
the  company  employs  are  on  two  twelve-hour  shifts,  except 
at  the  Pittsburgh  plant,  where  they  are  on  three  shifts,  but 
the  number  of  shift-workers  is  small.  The  whole  of  the 
oxidizing  department  requires  only  a  small  proportion  of  the 
total  force ;  and  most  of  the  actual  work  in  this  department, 
such  as  the  emptying  of  the  stacks,  is  done  by  day-w^orkers. 
Only  the  work  of  tending  the  furnaces — requiring  alto- 
gether about  half  the  employees  in  this  one  department — is 
on  twelve-hour  shifts. 

Niclcel. 

The  International  Nickel  Company  put  its  Bayonne  plant 
on  three  shifts  in  October,  1915,  late  enough  to  have  the  war 
la.bor  situation  to  contend  with  at  the  start,  or  shortly  after- 
wards. They  were  able  to  make  some  savings  in  the  number 
of  men  required  per  shift.  Also  there  was  some  gain  in 
output.  As  the  equipment  is  only  supposed  to  turn  out  so 
nmch  product,  it  might  be  supposed  that  it  could  make  no 
difference  in  output  whether  the  men  worked  twelve  hours  or 
eight.  But  sometimes  there  are  breakdowns  or  other  sources 
of  trouble,  and  it  has  been  found  that,  especially  in  hot 
weather,  production  is  started  again  more  quickly  after  an 


66      THE  TWELVE-HOUR  SHIFT  IN  INDUSTRY 

inteiTuptiou  when  the  men  are  on  eight-hour  shifts.  The 
mauagenicnt  states  that  the  increased  efficiency  of  the  men 
due  to  going  to  three  shifts  is  approximately  20  per  cent. 
This  helped  to  counterbalance  the  increase  in  pay-roll  ex- 
pense, which  was  50  per  cent.  The  eight-hour  men  were 
given  the  same  amount  of  money  they  had  formerly  received 
for  twelve  hours. 

In  addition  to  the  tangible  gains  in  efficiency  represented 
by  the  20  per  cent.,  there  were  many  intangible  benefits  de- 
rived from  the  shortening  of  hours.  Eor  instance,  the  com- 
pany had  previously  made  a  practice  of  shutting  down  during 
July  and  August.  Supposedly  this  was  for  repairs ;  but  the 
real  reason  was  that  the  men  would  not  work  during  the  hot 
months.  But  since  the  establishment  of  the  three-shift  system 
the  company  has  operated  throughout  the  year.  There  has 
been  also  tightening  up  of  discipline.  An  especially  bad 
feature  of  the  old  system  was  the  twenty-four  hour  turn, 
which  came  when  shifts  were  rotated.  For  a  couple  of  days 
after  they  had  worked  these  hours,  the  men  were  not  up  to 
their  usual  standard  of  performance.  The  three-shift  system 
eliminated  this  feature. 

Considering  the  intangible  factors,  the  company  is  well 
satisfied  with  the  outcome  of  three-shift  operation.  The 
management  thinks  that  it  is  important  to  get  away  from  the 
twelve-hour  shift  on  work  which  must  go  on  seven  days  a 
week.  In  any  place  where  the  work  is  at  all  heavy  the 
management  would  not  consider  two-shift  operation.  In 
1921,  because  of  slackness  and  demoralization  of  production, 
the  company  did  not  run  on  its  regular  schedule,  and  there 
was  some  reversion  to  longer  hours.  But  this  was  only  tem- 
porary. The  management  believes  in  the  ten-hour  day  for 
day-workers. 

In  Canada,  where  the  International  Nickel  Company  has 
more  employees  than  in  the  United  States,  the  results  of 


THE  METAL  INDUSTRIES  67 

going  to  three  shifts  were  better  than  fit  Bayonne.  This  was 
largely  because  operations  were  not  affected  so  much  by  the 
war  labor  situation.  It  happened  that  the  employees  in 
Canada  were  Austrians;  and  of  course,  under  the  circum- 
stances of  the  War,  the  Austrians  were  not  so  free  to  move 
about  as  were  the  American  employees.  It  may  be  noted 
that  when  the  Canadian  plant  was  first  put  on  three  shifts, 
the  other  plants  in  the  district  were  all  on  two  shifts.  Now 
all  have  gone  to  three  shifts. 

The  operating  head  thought  that  during  the  depression  of 
1921  it  might  have  been  possible  to  compel  a  return  to  two 
shifts  as  the  men  could  have  been  induced  to  do  anything. 
But  in  normal  times  he  did  not  think  it  could  be  done.  Some- 
times it  is  hard  to  get  men  who  have  always  worked  on  a 
twelve-hour  shift  (this  company  had  formerly  had  an  alterna- 
tion of  ten-  and  fourteen-hour  shifts)  to  think  of  anything 
but  the  money  which  would  be  sacrificed  in  changing  to  a 
shorter  day.  But  when  once  accustomed  to  the  shorter  shift 
they  could  not  be  persuaded  to  return  to  the  longer  one. 

At  one  time  the  International  Nickel  Company  had  a 
plan  by  which  the  men  on  each  group  of  furnaces  had  one 
day  off  in  the  week ;  their  j)laces  being  taken  in  rotation  by 
a  force  of  experienced  men  who  were  able  to  handle  the  jobs 
on  the  various  furnaces,  and  who  themselves  had  Sunday  off. 
This  plan  gave  the  men  a  forty-eight-hour  week.  It  worked 
well,  and  both  the  men  and  the  company  liked  it.  However, 
following  a  strike,  and  the  subsequent  infusion  into  the  force 
of  many  inexperienced  men,  the  plan  was  given  up  and  has 
not  been  resumed. 

The  management  of  this  company  believes  that  accidents 
are  less  frequent  under  the  three-shift  plan. 


68      THE  TWELVE-HOUR  SHIFT  IN  INDUSTRY 

Aluminum, 

The  Aluminum  Company  of  America  adopted  three-shift 
operation  in  the  "nineties,"  while  their  works  were  still  con* 
centrated  at  New  Kensington,  near  Pittsburgh.  Each  new 
plant  has  been  operated  on  the  three-shift  basis.  A  very 
small  portion  of  the  employees  at  each  plant  are  on  a  twelve- 
hour  basis,  but  this  is  confined  to  engineers,  stokers  (where 
work  is  automatic)  and  watchmen. 

The  production  of  metallic  aluminum  involves  what  is 
necessarily  a  continuous  process,  and  the  majority  of  the 
employees  are  on  three  shifts  per  day,  which  do  not  rotate 
unless  the  men  themselves  so  desire  it.  Ordinarily  there  is  a 
permanent  day,  and  two  permanent  night,  gangs.  However, 
where  the  men  request  rotation,  this  is  arranged  for,  either 
weekly,  or  bi-weekly,  by  reducing  to  eight  hours  the  time  off 
between  shifts,  one  shift  having  thirty-two  hours  off. 

In  the  rolling  and  fabricating  of  aluminum,  the  work  is 
not  strictly  continuous.  Of  the  3,000  men  employed  at  the 
New  Kensington  w^orks,  approximately  two-thirds  work  on 
two  ten-hour  shifts  and  one-third  are  on  day-work  entirely. 

Inasmuch  as  it  was  more  than  twenty  years  ago,  and  in 
the  infancy  of  the  company,  that  three  shifts  (on  most  of 
the  work)  were  substituted  for  two  shifts,  it  is  not  possible 
to  make  any  very  definite  comparison  between  the  results  of 
the  two  methods  of  operation.  The  company  is  of  the  opinion 
that  the  work  is  so  lacking  in  real  physical  strain,  consisting, 
for  instance,  of  such  work  as  watching  gauges,  that  there 
would  be  nothing  physically  impossible  in  the  men  working 
twelve  hours.  The  obstacle  to  twelve-hour  shifts  would  be  the 
general  sentiment  against  it  and  the  difficulty  of  getting  the 
men  to  go  on  such  a  basis ;  nor  would  the  company  itself  want 
to  go  back — barring  foreign  competition  on  such  a  basis  as 
would  compel  it. 


THE  METAL  INDUSTRIES  69 

So  far  as  day-work  is  concerned,  and  wherever  it  is  pos- 
sible so  to  arrange  it  on  shift-work,  the  company  believes  in 
the  ten-hour  day..  It  is  the  conviction  of  the  executives  that, 
while,  at  the  time  of  going  from  ten  to  eight  hours,  men 
might  do  as  much  in  eight  as  in  ten  hours,  after  a  number  of 
years  it  would  \)e  found  that  they  had  dropped  back  to  the 
old  standard  rate  per  hour. 


CHxVPTER   VII 
GLASS   AND   CEMENT 

GLASS 

The  making  of  glass  and  glass  products  may  be  regarded 
either  as  a  single  industry  or  as  a  group  of  industries.  All 
glass  is  alike,  in  that  it  is  made  from  raw  ingredients  of 
certain  kinds  melted  in  pots  or  tanks  and  later  annealed. 
But  it  will  be  found  that  the  difference  in  the  processes  by 
which  the  various  glass  products  are  given  their  final  form  are 
often  of  the  most  fundamental  character. 

Furnaces,  Pots  atid  Tajiks 

In  every  glass  works  is  to  be  found  a  furnace  with  its  pots 
or  continuous  tanks.  Whether  pots  or  tanks  are  used,  the 
firing  and  the  supervision  of  the  melting  is  a  twenty-four- 
hour  procedure.  It  is  well  to  keep  the  continuous  nature  of 
the  furnace  work  in  glass  plants  in  mind,  because  it  is  here 
that  the  problem  of  the  twelve-hour  shift  is  mainly  to  be 
found.  We  shall  find  that  in  some  branches  of  glass  working, 
long  hours  have  perhaps  never  existed,  and  that  in  others 
they  have  been  nearly  eliminated  within  the  last  few  years. 
But  until  quite  recently,  the  twelve-hour  shift  was  the  rule 
for  men  employed  in  either  a  supervisory  or  laboring  capacity 
about  glass  furnaces ;  and  the  practice  is  still  a  common  one, 
even  where  almost  all  other  employees,  especially  those  work- 
ing on  shifts,  are  on  a  day  of  about  eight  hours. 

The  number  of  furnace  men  in  a  glass  plant  is  usually 
small.     If  in  addition  to  the  men  about  the  furnaces  those 

70 


GLASS  AND  CEMENT  71 

employed  on  the  annealing  ovens  or  leers  are  on  twelve-hour 
shifts,  then  the  total  of  twelve-hour  employees  may  constitute 
a  considerable  group.  But  there  are  glass  plants  (with  fur- 
naces on  two  shifts)  where,  at  any  one  time,  not  more  than 
one  or  two  men  would  be  working  on  the  twelve-hour  basis. 
Compared  with  much  of  the  other  work  about  a  glass  plant, 
a  furnace  man  may  have  a  good  deal  of  waiting  to  do.  But 
there  will  be  times  when  the  work  is  hot. 

The  operator  of  a  glass  tank  is  called  a  shearer  in  the 
East,  and  in  the  West  a  teaser.  In  the  case  of  large  tanks 
he  will  have  other  men  as  helpers.  There  is  a  difference  of 
opinion  in  the  glass  industry  as  to  whether  it  is  sound  prac- 
tice to  have  the  teaser  on  eight-hour  shifts.  The  proportion 
of  such  men  is  not  large  enough  to  make  much  difference  in 
the  pay  roll.  But  it  is  held  by  some  manufacturers  that 
better  results  come  from  having  two,  rather  than  three,  dif- 
ferent men  responsible  for  the  melt.  Other  glass  manufac- 
turers, however,  do  not  hold  this  opinion.  Only  a  few  miles 
from  the  spot  where  a  bottle  manufacturer,  who  had  put  his 
teasers  on  three  shifts,  said  it  did  not  work  so  well,  a  manu- 
facturer of  chemical  glass,  who  had  made  the  same  change, 
said  it  offered  no  handicap.  Many  other  glass  manufacturers 
consulted  have  taken  the  position  that  there  is  no  technical 
obstacle  in  the  way  of  having  three  teasers  on  the  job.  This 
is  especially  the  case  where  the  use  of  pyrometers  and  a 
definite  system  of  instructions  and  inspection  has  so  strength- 
ened the  technical  control  over  the  process  that  the  real 
responsibility  is  no  longer  in  the  hands  of  the  two  or  three 
men  who  take  turns  on  the  furnace, — the  work  being  planned 
and  controlled  by  the  technical  staff. 

Under  modern  operation  and  supervision,  not  much  real 
difficulty  is  ordinarily  to  be  expected  in  detailing  three,  in- 
stead of  two,  men  to  have  charge  of  the  glass  furnace  or  tank. 
It  is  possible  that  in  some  special  branches  of  glass  manufnc- 


72      THE  TWELVE-HOUR  SHIFT  IN  INDUSTRY 

ture,  where  the  process  still  depends  upon  individual  knack 
and  skill,  and  has  not  been  thoroughly  reduced  to  formula,  it 
may  simplify  matters  if  one  man  does  duty  for  twelve  hours, 
rather  than  have  a  supervision  which  changes  every  eight 
hours.  But  at  most,  the  area  in  which  it  may  possibly  be 
more  satisfactory  to  have  long  shifts — whether  because  of  the 
special  character  of  the  glass,  or  because  of  the  type  of  man- 
agement employed — is  small ;  and  with  improvement  in  tech- 
nical knowledge  and  control  is  certain  to  diminish.  Even 
at  present  there  is  nowhere  an  absolute  bar  to  going  to  three 
shifts. 

Most  branches  of  the  glass  industry  are  strongly  union- 
ized ;  but  the  unions  have  not  included  teasers  or  other  fur- 
nace men.  Within  the  last  few  years,  some  of  the  labor 
organizations  have  been  trying  to  extend  imion  rules  to  cover 
furnace  men,  and  have  succeeded  in  getting  their  hours  re* 
duced  to  eight.  In  other  cases,  such  a  change  has  been 
initiated  by  the  employer.  A  large  proportion  of  the  furnace 
men  engaged  in  the  manufacture  of  flint  glass,  bottles,  and 
window  glass  are  still  on  twelve-hour  shifts. 

Fli7it  Glass. 

For  convenience  in  classification  there  will  be  included 
under  the  head  of  flint  glass  all  of  the  less  specialized  lines 
of  glass  manufacture,  whether  it  be  pressed  ware,  electric 
bulbs,  chemical  glass,  or  any  of  the  innumerable  small  articles 
made  of  glass — in  contradistinction  to  those  more  outstanding 
branches  of  the  industry  given  over  to  the  making  of  bottles, 
window  glass,  and  plate  glass.  Aside  from  the  melting  of 
the  glass,  which  necessarily  requires  that  the  furnace  men 
serve  through  the  night,  this  more  general  and  miscellaneous 
section  of  the  glass  industry  is  not,  in  the  majority  of  plants, 
operated  absolutely  continuously. 

Taking  the  glass  industry  as  a  whole,  continuous-operation 


GLASS  AND  CEMENT  73 

in  the  shaping  of  the  product  has  been  a  matter  of  develop- 
ment, rather  than  something  which  inhered  in  the  craft. 
Originally  all  glass  was  made  in  pots;  and  this  is  still  the 
case  in  many  types  of  glass  manufacture.  Under  the  pot 
system,  the  necessity  for  continuous-operation  is  not  com- 
pelling. There  is  nothing  to  prevent  such  an  arrangement 
of  the  firing  of  the  pots,  that  all  can  be  drawn  at  specified 
times  of  the  day.  Thus  the  actual  working  in  glass  cau  be 
confined  within  whatever  hours  may  seem  desirable.  But 
with  the  introduction  of  the  continuous  tank  the  economy  of 
drawing  glass  throughout  the  twenty-four  hours  becomes  an 
important  consideration. 

The  arrangement  of  working  hours  in  the  several 
branches  of  the  glass  industry  may  be  said  to  have  passed 
through  the  following  stages  of  evolution : 

1.  The  glass  is  made  in  pots  and  turned  into  finished 

products  by  hand  by  men  working  on  one  shift,  or, 
more  likely,  on  two  shifts  of  from  eight  to  eight- 
and-a-half  hours  each. 

2.  The  introduction  in  a  portion   (but  not  all)    of  the 

plants  of  continuous  tanks  and  automatic  or  semi- 
automatic machinery,  has  caused  that  portion  of  the 
industry  to  run  through  the  twenty-four  hours,  most 
probably  on  twelve-hour  shifts. 

3.  To  meet  the  competition  of  the  machine  plants,  the 

hand-workers  agree  to  work  on  three  eight-hour 
shifts,  thus  enabling  their  employers  to  get  a 
larger  output  from  their  equipment,  save  in  fuel, 
etc. 

4.  In  the  last  few  years  the  machine  plants  have  been 

changing  from  two  twelve-hour  to  three  eight-hour 
shifts. 

The  flint  glass  industry  is,  for  the  most  part,  still  in  the 


74      THE  TWELVE-HOUR  SHIFT  IN  INDUSTRY 

first  of  these  four  stages  of  development.  A  large  part  of 
the  work  is  still  hand-work.  In  the  hand  plants,  one  set  of 
men  work  in  the  day-time  two  shifts  of  four  hours  or  four- 
and-a-quarter  hours  each,  making  a  day  of  eight,  or  eight- 
and-a-half  hours.  Another  set  of  men  work  at  night  two 
shifts  of  four  or  four-and-a-quarter  hours  each,  making  a 
night  shift  of  eight  or  eight-and-a-half  hours.  Thus  the  daily 
operating  time  is  sixteen  or  seventeen  hours.  The  employers 
are  very  eager  to  work  continuously  with  three  sets  of  men. 
It  has  been  tried  a  few  times  in  cases  of  emergency,  and  it 
was  found  that  the  employer  who  used  his  equipment  twenty- 
four  hours  had  an  important  advantage  over  competitors,  in 
the  matter  of  cost. 

But  the  flint  glass  workers  engaged  on  hand-work  are 
thoroughly  organized  and  are  strongly  opposed  to  putting  on 
a  third  shift  to  run  through  the  small  hours  of  the  morning. 
A  force,  however,  which  may  eventually  break  down  their 
resistance  is  the  further  adoption  of  automatic  machinery. 

The  two  eight-hour  (or  eight-and-one-half  hour)  shift 
system  in  hand-operated  flint  glass  factories  applies  only  to 
that  major  portion  of  the  industry  which  is  unionized.  In 
the  case  of  the  Corning  Glass  Works,  whose  employees  are 
not  organized,  the  hand-workers  were  formerly  employed  on 
two  ten-hour  shifts.  In  August,  1921,  those  workers  engaged 
in  the  manufacture  of  pyrex  were  changed  from  two  ten-hour 
to  three  eight-hour  shifts.  The  company  reports  that  the 
change  from  ten-hour  to  eight-hour  shifts  resulted  in: 

1.  Increased  output  per  running  hour. 

2.  A  longer  working  week  (for  the  plant). 

3.  Reduced  overhead. 

4.  Better  service. 

5.  Less   absenteeism    (excepting   on   the   Sunday   night 

shift). 

6.  Reduced  labor  turnover. 


GLASS  AND  CEMENT  75 

The  two  gains  last  mentioned  were  in  part  attributable 
to  the  change  in  general  labor  conditions.  The  chief  difficulty 
in  connection  with  the  three-shift  system  was  in  obtaining 
punctuality,  but  the  company  states  that  this  difficulty  has 
tended  to  disappear  and  is  outweighed  by  the  advantages. 

Machine  work  in  the  flint  glass  industry  is  to  be  found 
chiefly  in  the  making  of  electric  bulbs  and  tubing.  Both  in 
its  mechanical  and  labor  aspects,  machine  operation  presents 
a  different  problem  from  hand  operation,  and  the  practice  in 
the  matter  of  hours  and  shifts  has  usually  been  different.  At 
the  Corning  Glass  Works,  the  bulb  alid  tube  machines  were 
on  two  ten-hour  shifts  as  long  as  pot  furnaces  were  used. 
With  the  introduction  of  the  continuous  tank,  about  Novem- 
ber, 1919,  30  per  cent,  of  the  blowing  staff  were  put  on  con- 
tinuous-operation on  eight-hour  shifts.  In  November,  1921, 
the  propoi'tiou  was  increased  to  S~>  per  cent.  The  substitution 
of  three  eight-hour  for  two  ten-hour  shifts,  besides  permitting 
a  longer  furnace  week,  resulted  in  an  increase  in  hourly 
machine  output  of  20  per  cent.  Except  for  this  increase  in 
production,  the  quality  of  the  service  rendered  by  the  men 
was  about  the  same.  There  was,  however,  an  improvement  in 
respect  to  absenteeism  and  labor  turnover,  partly  due  to  a 
change  in  general  labor  conditions. 

At  the  plant  of  another  glass  company,  located  at  Toledo, 
it  was  found  that  the  automatic  machines  were  operating 
continuously,  but  on  twelve-hour  in  place  of  eight-hour  shifts. 
The  hourly  wage  rates  paid  twelve-hour  workers  in  this  plant 
were  the  same  as  those  paid  by  a  competing  plant  in  the  same 
city,  which  operated  on  three  eight-hour  shifts. 

In  the  plant  last  referred  to,  the  work  of  finishing  bulbs 
has  recently  been  changed  from  day-work  to  continuous- 
operation  on  three  eight-hour  shifts.  This  change  avoided 
storing  partly  completed  bulbs  and  was  found  to  be  a  distinct 
advantage. 


76      THE  TWELVE-HOUR  SHIFT  IN  INDUSTRY 

Bottles. 

The  labor  actually  engaged  in  the  hand  blowing  of  bottles 
has  never  (so  far  as  could  be  learned)  been  on  a  twelve-hour 
day.  The  old  system  was  two  shifts  of  eight-and-a-half  hours 
each.  It  was  the  development  of  automatic  machinery  which 
influenced  the  bottle  blowers'  union,  some  ten  years  ago,  to 
favor  continuous-operation.  Since  then,  the  operation  has 
been  conducted  on  three  eight-hour  shifts,  which,  taking  out 
a  lunch-period,  means  about  seven  hours  and  a  half  of  actual 
work. 

Bottle-blowing  machines  are  of  two  main  types, — auto- 
matic and  semi-automatic.  Semi-automatic  machines  require 
hand  gathering,  and  the  arrangement  of  hours  is  the  same  as 
that  followed  in  the  blowing  of  bottles  by  hand.  The  auto- 
matic machines  gather  the  glass  from  the  tanks,  as  well 
as  blow  it  into  bottles,  and  do  not  require  the  same  con- 
tinuous activity  on  the  part  of  attendants  that  characterizes 
hand  or  semi-automatic  blowing. 

The  automatic  machines  were  originally  operated  on  two 
twelve-hour  shifts  but  about  1915  or  1916,  the  leading  com- 
pany changed  to  three  eight-hour  shifts  both  on  machines  and 
tanks. 

WiTidow  Glass. 

All  manufacturers  of  window  glass,  so  far  as  is  known, 
operate  continuously,  and  predominantly  on  three  shifts.  But 
there  is  a  considerable  number  of  individual  workers  who  are 
still  on  twelve-hour  shifts. 

At  the  largest  window-glass  factory  in  the  United  States, 
it  was  found  that  up  to  the  time  of  the  depression,  all  the 
tank  men  and  a  considora])le  number  of  others  had  been  on 
twelve-hour  shifts.  Out  of  a  total  of  1,300  employees,  some 
175  were  on  twelve-hour  shifts,  about  354  on  eight-hour 
shifts,  and  about  800  were  on  ten-hour  day-work. 


GLASS  AND  CEMENT  77 

The  twelve-hour  employees  included  (on  a  single  tank) 
the  teasers,  who  have  charge  of  the  tank;  two  fillers  (on 
each  shift),  who  operate  the  charging  machinery,  reverse  the 
drafts,  and  do  whatever  actual  work  may  be  necessary  in 
connection  with  the  running  of  the  furnace;  and  two  skim- 
mers (on  each  shift),  who  remove  clay  from  the  surface  of 
the  glass.  Also  on  twelve-hour  shifts  were  the  shove  boys 
and  leer  tenders,  who  introduce  and  remove  the  glass  from 
the  leers. 

The  eight-hour  employees  included  all  the  men  in  the 
blowing  department — ladlers,  ladle  skimmers,  blowers,  cap- 
pers (who  cut  the  cylinders  transversely)  and  also  the  men 
who  cut  them  longitudinally — as  well  as  the  flatteners. 

Glass  cutting,  and  much  of  the  general  work  about  the 
plant,  such  as  that  of  machinists,  electricians,  and  repair 
work  of  all  sorts,  is  day-work. 

This  company  on  general  principles  favored  three  shifts, 
and  expressed  satisfaction  with  the  results  of  eight-hour  work 
periods  and  the  belief  that  the  men  do  not  decline  in  efficiency 
through  the  day  so  much  on  eight-hour  as  on  twelve-hour 
shifts.  The  company  is  tending  towards  the  elimination  of 
twelve-hour  work.  During  the  depression,  teasers  (but  not 
the  furnace  men)  were  put  on  eight-hour  shifts;  and  it  was 
expected  to  continue  this  arrangement. 

Ten  or  twelve  years  ago,  the  flatteners  worked  twelve- 
hour  shifts.  The  company  proposed  going  to  eight-hour  shifts 
so  as  to  get  more  output  per  hour.  The  men  agreed.  The 
result  was  a  material  increase  in  the  volume  of  flattening  per 
hour;  though  less  was  done  in  an  eight-hour  period  than  in 
twelve  hours.  Flattening  is  very  particular  work ;  it  is  easy 
to  spoil  much  glass  through  bad  flattening.  It  is  also  hot 
work.  There  can  be  no  question  in  the  opinion  of  this  man- 
agement, but  that  from  the  production  as  well  as  the  humani- 
tarian standpoint  the  eight-hour  shift  is  much  preferable  to 


78      THE  TWELVE-HOUR  SHIFT  IN  INDUSTRY 

the  twelve-hour  shift  for  flattening.  In  fact  this  company 
would  prefer  six-hour  shifts,  which  would  give  the  maximum 
output  per  hour,  though  not  per  shift.  Occasionally,  as  dur- 
ing the  depression,  the  men  who  are  on  piece  work  will  work 
on  six-hour  shifts. 

The  arrangements  regarding  hours  described  for  this  one 
plant  are  more  or  less  typical  of  those  prevailing  in  the 
cylinder-machine  window  glass  industry.  Some  of  the  plants 
have  gone  a  little  farther  in  eliminating  twelve-hour  work; 
and,  on  the  other  hand  it  is  possible  that  in  some  of  the 
smaller  companies  the  men  operating  blowing  machines,  or 
perhaps  even  the  flatteners,  may  be  on  twelve  hours. 

In  the  hand  window-glass  plants,  it  is  understood  that 
the  craftsmen  work  eight  hours — actually  seven-and-a-half — 
though  when  running  short-handed  they  may  sometimes  work 
twelve  hours. 

In  the  manufacture  of  sheet  glass,  the  Libbey-Owens 
Sheet  Glass  Company  changed  from  two  to  three  shifts  about 
three  years  ago  and  at  the  same  time  established  a  bonus 
system.  Distinctly  better  results  were  obtained.  The  bonus 
had  something  to  do  with  the  improvement,  but  the  whole 
plan  for  better  operations  was  dependent  for  its  success  upon 
getting  away  from  twelve  hours.  All  shift-workers,  both 
tank  men  and  machine  men,  were  put  on  three  shifts,  but 
the  cutters  are  on  day-work. 

Plate  Glass. 

The  plate  glass  industry  is  unorganized.  Aside  from  the 
original  melting  of  the  glass  in  pots,  it  is  in  its  methods  an 
entirely  different  industry  from  those  which  have  been  de- 
scribed as  coming  under  the  head  of  glass.  Plate  glass 
manufacture  is  an  industry  of  large  equipment  and  ma- 
chinery, rather  than  of  personal  skill.  The  glass  is  cast 
from  pots  and  rolled  flat.    It  is  passed  through  an  annealing 


GLASS  AND  CEMENT  79 

leer,  ground  on  revolving  tables,  and,  after  resetting,  polished 
on  similar  tables.  It  is  moved  by  overhead  cranes;  and  on 
the  whole  the  industry  is  more  comparable  to  the  steel  in- 
dustry than  to  the  glass  industry  as  usually  conceived. 

This  industry  was  on  two  shifts  until  a  few  years  ago. 
About  five  or  six  years  ago  the  Pittsburgh  Plate  Glass  Com- 
pany, the  largest  producer,  went  to  three  shifts.  According 
to  the  president  of  the  company,  the  change  has  worked  out 
satisfactorily. 

About  three  years  ago  the  "independent"  producers  of 
plate  glass  went  to  three  shifts  also.  They  were  not  quite 
unanimous  in  doing  this ;  but  the  proportion  of  the  plate  glass 
industry  still  on  two  shifts  is  quite  small — possibly  not  more 
than  two  or  three  plants. 

The  "independents"  went  to  three  shifts  because  at  the 
time  they  did  so  the  labor  situation  was  such  as  to  make  it 
almost  necessary,  if  they  were  to  hold  their  labor.  None  of 
the  plants  visited  had  had  any  technical  difficulty  in  going 
to  three  shifts.  All  regarded  the  change  as  right,  but  there 
was  not  much  to  report  in  the  way  of  improvement  in  effi- 
ciency. 

The  factory  manager  of  a  Michigan  plate  glass  plant 
visited  did  not  see  any  difference  in  the  number  of  men  re- 
quired per  shift  or  in  the  production  per  hour  on  eight-hour 
as  contrasted  with  twelve-hour  shifts.  But  the  eight-hour 
shift  could  not  cost  the  company  more  than  the  twelve-hour 
shift,  so  long  as  there  was  no  increase  in  the  hourly  wage 
rate.  When  this  plant  went  to  three  shifts,  the  company 
paid  the  men  just  a  little  less  than  ten  hours'  pay  for  eight 
hours'  work.  But  this  advance  was  in  lieu  of  an  increase  in 
wages  which  would  have  come  any  way. 

The  three-shift  plan  was  adopted  because  the  men  kept 
pressing  for  it.  The  manager  told  them  that  it  made  no 
difference  to  the  company  whether  thoy  worked  eight-hour 


80      THE  TWELVE-HOUR  SHIFT  IN  INDUSTRY 

or  twelve-hour  shifts.  (It  would  actually  mean  a  little  more 
bother  to  have  three  shifts  of  men,  but  that  was  a  minor 
matter. )  But  it  was  a  time  when  to  secure  men  was  difficult. 
The  workers  Avere  told  that  if  they  were  to  go  on  eight  hours 
they  would  have  to  find  the  extra  crew.  This  they  did,  aided 
by  the  fact  that  men  who  had  left  the  glass  works  because  of 
the  twelve-hour  shift  were  now  willing  to  come  back. 

After  the  change  to  three  shifts,  the  more  settled  men 
began  to  acquire  gardens  or  small  farms.  And  since  they 
were  on  an  eight-hour  day,  they  were  able  to  take  care  of 
their  acreage.  In  fact,  the  manager  said  that,  by  the  help 
of  their  gardens,  the  men  actually  came  out  better  financially 
than  they  would  have  come  out  had  they  continued  to  work 
twelve  hours  in  the  glass  plant — for  twelve  hours'  pay.  And 
they  were  much  more  independent,  in  case  the  plant  should 
be  compelled  to  shut  down  or  lay  them  off. 

In  the  typical  plate  glass  plant  about  one-third  of  the 
employees  are  shift  men,  the  rest  day-workers.  In  about 
half  of  the  plants  the  making  of  the  casts  is  on  a  single  shift. 
In  the  other  half  of  the  plants  this  work  is  on  two  eight-hour 
shifts.  In  a  few  cases  it  might  be  on  two  twelve-hour  shifts. 
In  some  plants  the  casts  are  made  at  a  different  hour  each 
day,  the  process  of  making  the  melt  and  allowing  the  glass 
to  cool  before  the  cast  taking  a  little  over  twenty-four  hours. 

However  the  casts  may  be  arranged,  the  work  on  the  glass 
after  it  comes  out  of  the  annealing  leer  is  continuous.  The 
main  reasons  for  running  the  grinding  and  polishing  of  plate 
glass  continuously  are  the  size  and  costliness  of  the  machinery 
employed,  the  desire  to  get  maximum  output,  and  the  con- 
venience and  economy  of  not  having  to  stop. 

In  the  making  of  plate  glass,  as  is  common  in  the  other 
continuous-industries,  the  various  mechanical  and  labor 
functions,  as  well  as  the  cutting  and  shipping  of  the  glass, 
are  on  day-work. 


GLASS  AND   CEMENT  81 


CEMENT 


Next  to  the  steel  industry,  cement  is  probably  the  most 
important  continuous-industry  which  is  still  predominantly 
on  two  shifts.^  But  the  industry  is  not  entirely  on  two  shifts. 
The  two  companies  which,  in  1920,  turned  out  respectively 
the  largest  and  the  third  largest  output  of  cement  are  on  three 
shifts  in  nearly  all  of  their  plants — one  having  been  on  this 
system  for  a  number  of  years.  Many  of  the  smaller  plants 
are  also  on  three  shifts,  and  a  number  are  partly  on  three 
shifts,  partly  on  two. 

Report   of   Conservation   Committee   of  Portland  Cement 
Association. 

For  several  years,  the  Portland  Cement  Association, 
which  includes  all  but  a  negligible  proportion  of  the  cement 
companies,  has  had  a  Conservation  Committee,  whose  main 
object  has  been  to  make  researches  for  the  whole  industry 
regarding  methods  of  increasing  efficiency  or  reducing  waste, 
mainly  along  engineering  and  material  lines.  The  last  year 
or  two  this  committee  has  collected  the  most  exhaustive  and 
exact  figures  which  have  been  found  for  any  industry  re- 
garding the  relationship  between  efficiency  of  production  and 
the  shift  system  in  the  various  cement  plants.  In  1920, 
their  survey  covered  eighty-six  plants,  or  about  50  or  60 
per  cent,  of  all  the  cement  plants  in  the  country.  Of  these, 
fifty-one  were  on  two  shifts,  thirteen  partly  on  two  and  partly 
on  three  shifts,  and  twenty-two  on  three  shifts.  In  the  com- 
mittee's full  report,  the  eighty-six  plants  are  classified  and 
described  in  respect  to  size;  as  to  whether  they  purchase  or 

*  Cottonseed  oil  crushing,  though  employing  fewer  persons  altogether, 
would  probably  have  more  men  on  shift-work — and  certainly  more  men 
on  twelve-hour  shifts — than  cement.  However,  the  industry  is  seasonal. 
The  brick  industry  has,  of  course,  many  more  employees  than  the  cement 
industry,  but  comparatively  few  arc  on  continuous  work. 


82      THE  TWELVE-HOUR  SHIFT  IN  INDUSTRY 

develop  power;  as  to  whether  they  use  coal  or  oil  in  their 
kilns;  the  general  characteristics  of  the  process  used;  the 
per  cent,  of  the  year  operated,  and  the  practice  as  respects 
two-shift,  two-and-three  shift,  or  three-shift  operation.  For 
each  of  the  oighty-six  plants,  there  is  given  the  number  of 
man-hours  which  were  put  in — per  barrel  of  cement — in 
each  of  that  plant's  departments,  as  well  as  figures  for  the 
plant  taken  as  a  whole.  Table  3  shows  the  average  man- 
hours,  as  well  as  the  lowest  and  highest  man-hours,  for  the 
plants  in  each  of  the  three  groups  of  two-shift,  three-shift, 
and  two-three  shift  plants. 


TABLE  3 

Comparative  Labor  Efficiency,  86  Portland  Cement  Plants,  1920 

(Data  supplied  by  the  Committee  on  Conservation, 
Portland  Cement  Association) 


Number 

of 

plants 

Man-hours 

to  produce  one  barrel 

Shift  system 

Average 

all 

plants 

in  group 

Most 
efficient 

plant 
in  group 

Least 
efficient 

plant 
in  group 

Two-shift  group 

51 
22 
13 

1.035 

.823 
.756 

.  551 
.466 
.470 

1  940 

Three-shift  group 

1.540 

Two-  three-shift  group 

1.140 

An  important  question  arises  as  to  whether  this  clear  differ- 
ence in  efficiency  is  due  to  the  shift  system,  or  to  some  other 
factor.  The  fact  that  so  many  plants  are  included  should 
tend  to  eliminate  averages  wide  of  the  mark  for  purely 
accidental  reasons.  But  is  it  possible  that  all  the  more  pro- 
gressive concerns  might  have  gone  to  three  shifts,  leaving  the 


GLASS  AND  CEMENT  83 

less  progressive  on  two  shifts,  or  have  the  large  plants  more 
generally  gone  to  three  shifts,  or  is  there  something  special 
about  the  equipment  or  processes  of  the  twenty-two  plants 
on  three  shifts,  and  the  thirteen  on  two-three  shifts  ?  The 
investigator  has  raised  questions  such  as  these  with  the  chair- 
man of  the  Conservation  Committee,  the  conservation  en- 
gineer who  collected  the  data  for  the  Association  and  with 
others  in  cement  plants,  whose  sympathies  were  sometimes 
with  two  shifts,  sometimes  with  three  shifts.  But  though 
these  gentlemen  have  sometimes  examined  in  detail  the 
characteristics  of  a  number  of  plants,  in  no  case  could  they 
see,  or  had  they  any  reason  to  suspect,  any  unfairness  in 
the  comparison.  The  investigator  noted  that  sixteen  of  the 
twenty-two  three-shift  plants  were  among  the  forty-six  largest 
plants,  and  only  six  among  the  forty  smallest  ones.  But  a 
comparison  of  three-shift  plants  with  two-shift  plants  in  the 
same  general  class  seemed  to  indicate  that  not  too  much  im- 
portance should  be  attached  to  this  tendency  towards  differ- 
ence in  size. 

From  one  viewpoint,  the  figures  show  almost  too  great  a 
superiority  in  eflficiency  for  the  three-shift  plants.  When  it 
is  remembered  that  usually  only  30  or  40  per  cent,  of  the 
employees  in  a  cement  plant  are  on  shift-work,  a  gain  in 
output  per  man-hour  of  25  per  cent.,  due  to  reducing  the 
hours  of  this  minority  of  the  men  from  twelve  to  eight,  is 
so  large  as  almost  to  seem  to  necessitate  the  conclusion  that 
other  factors  must  to  some  extent  have  influenced  the  figures. 
If,  however,  it  be  considered  that  the  tightening  up  of  effi- 
ciency among  the  shift-workers  may  have  been  a  means  of 
increasing  output  and  efficiency  among  the  day-workers  as 
well,  even  though  the  hours  of  the  latter  remained  unchanged, 
then  it  is  seen  that  the  averages  are  well  within  the  limits 
of  that  which  is  possible,  though  the  story  which  they  tell 
becomes  all  the  more  remarkable. 


84      THE  TWELVE-HOUR  SHIFT  IN  INDUSTRY 

However  the  force  of  these  figures  might  be  lessened  or 
strengthened  by  a  more  perfect  knowledge  of  the  conditions 
in  the  several  cement  plants,  the  fact  that  cost  figures  col- 
lected for  half  an  industry  should,  on  their  face,  be  thus 
favorable  to  the  three-shift  plants  is  impressive.  It  makes 
it  clear  that,  whatever  may  be  said  of  the  three-shift  system 
in  this  specific  instance  or  that,  the  system  cannot  on  the 
whole  be  a  source  of  serious  loss.  No  doubt  there  are  plants 
where  three  shifts  cost  more.  But  adding  all  such  instances 
together,  the  losses  are  not  so  great  but  that,  when  they  are 
all  totaled  and  combined  into  one  figure  with  that  for  other 
cement  plants,  the  net  result  is  a  distinct  gain.  Indeed,  the 
operating  efficiency  of  the  three-shift  cement  plants  is  so 
much  above  that  for  the  two-shift  plants  as  to  more  than 
counter-balance  any  possible  wage  differential  which  the 
eight-hour  shift  men  might  receive. 

Comhination  of  Two  Shifts  and  Three  Shifts. 

The  chairman  of  the  Conservation  Committee,  Mr.  Joseph 
Brobston,  firmly  believes  that  three-shift  operation  is  more 
economical  than  two-shift  operation.  It  is  his  view,  however, 
that  a  combination  of  two-shift  and  three-shift  operation  is, 
at  present,  a  little  more  economical  than  either  wholly  two- 
shift  or  wholly  three-shift  operation,  for  the  reason  that  the 
two-three  shift  plants  put  those  departments  on  three  shifts 
where  it  is  more  economical  to  operate  three  shifts,  but  leave 
on  two  shifts  any  departments  where  two-shift  operation  may 
be  more  economical.  Nevertheless,  he  thinks  that  eventually 
the  eight-hour  shift  can  be  put  into  all  the  continuous  de- 
partments and  made  to  pay  its  way. 

Most  of  the  cement  plants  at  Nazareth,  Pennsylvania,  are 
operated  on  the  plan  of  part  two  shifts,  part  three  shifts,  and 
consequently  have  given  a  good  deal  of  attention  to  the  ques- 


GLASS  AND  CEMENT  85 

tion  as  to  just  where  it  is  more  economical  to  operate  on 
three  shifts.  It  is  the  opinion  at  Nazareth  that  the  most 
important  place  about  a  cement  plant  in  which  to  have  eight- 
hour  shifts  is  the  kiln  room.  This  room  contains  long  hori- 
zontal kilns  in  which  the  powdered  stone  is  calcinated  to  a 
clinker.  The  work  is  hot.  The  kiln  fireman  should  be  alert 
and  give  careful  attention,  including  frequent  observation  of 
what  is  going  on  within  the  kiln.  It  has  been  found  that 
on  a  shorter  day  a  man  can  be  trusted  with  more  kilns.  Thus 
in  one  cement  plant  it  took  four  men  in  the  kiln  room  on 
two  shifts — two  per  shift,  but  when  the  plant  went  to  three 
shifts,  it  took  only  three  men — one  per  shift.  In  the  case  of 
four  Nazareth  cement  plants  which  put  their  kiln  rooms  oq 
three  shifts,  it  was  found  in  each  instance  that  no  more  men 
were  required,  and  also  that  the  output  of  the  kilns  wa3 
increased. 

Aside  from  their  kiln  room,  it  was  stated  at  a  Nazareth 
two-three  shift  plant  visited  that  there  had  been  a  reduction 
in  personnel  in  the  drying  department  and  in  the  handling 
of  clinker,  when  those  departments  were  put  on  three  shifts. 
They  believed,  however,  that  in  the  raw  crushing,  first 
in  stone  crushers  and  then  in  raw  mills  of  various  types, 
preparatory  to  burning,  and  also  in  the  finishing  mills,  where 
the  clinker  is  ground  to  the  consistency  of  flour,  it  would  be 
difficult  to  get  more  production,  or  use  fewer  men,  on  eight- 
hour  than  on  twelve-hour  shifts. 

In  cement  plants,  generally,  quarrying  is  day-work  only, 
though  it  is  not  uncommon  under  special  circumstances  of 
location  or  equipment  to  run  quarries  on  two  ten-hour  shifts. 

The  packing  of  cement  in  bags  or  barrels,  and  the  various 
departments  engaged  in  construction  or  repair  work,  as  well 
as  common  labor,  are  usually  on  ten-hour  day-work — whether 
the  plant  as  a  whole  is  on  two  or  three  shifts,  or  mixed. 

Sometimes  the  crushing,  and  in  some  instances  a  greater 


86      THE  TWELVE-HOUR  SHIFT  IN  INDUSTRY 

or  smaller  part  of  the  grinding,  is  to  be  found  on  a  single 
shift,  but  this  last  is  not  regarded  as  satisfactory  practice. 
It  is  held  at  Nazareth  that  one  of  the  most  important 
advantages  of  putting  a  department  on  three  shifts  is  the 
elimination  of  the  twenty-four-hour  turn,  which  comes  once  a 
week  when  shifts  are  rotated. 

Plants  Entirely  on  Three  Shifts. 

Taking  up  the  experience  of  several  cement  companies 
which  have  put  entire  plants  on  three  shifts,  it  was  stated 
at  the  main  office  of  one  of  the  largest  cement  producers  that 
because  of  the  instability  of  the  labor  situation  during  the 
last  few  years  it  was  impossible  to  tell  what  had  been  the 
effect  of  the  three-shift  system  in  their  plants.  But  the  in- 
vestigator found  that  the  men  in  charge  of  one  of  the  plants 
were  quite  sure  that  operations  went  better  on  three  shifts. 
Not  much,  apparently,  had  been  saved  on  manning.  In  the 
engine  room,  there  had  been  four  men  on  two  shifts,  and  this 
was  reduced  to  three  men  on  three  shifts,  apparently  an  in- 
crease of  from  eight  to  only  nine  men.  In  the  boiler  room 
they  at  first  reduced  the  number  of  men  from  three  per  shift 
to  two  per  shift,  but  they  had  to  increase  the  number  again 
to  three.  There  was  some  reduction  in  manning  in  the  raw 
mill.  But  regardless  of  any  savings  in  manning,  the  plant 
managers  were  positive  that  in  other  respects  the  employees 
did  better  work  on  eight-hour  than  they  had  done  on  twelve- 
hour  shifts.  The  men,  they  knew,  preferred  three  shifts,  for 
when  individuals  were  sick,  or  did  not  show  up  for  some 
other  reason,  other  men  were  sometimes  asked,  during  the 
emergency,  to  work  twelve  hours.  This  the  men  would  do, 
but  if  the  practice  was  continued  for  any  length  of  time, 
there  was  objection,  in  spite  of  the  much  greater  earnings 
paid  for  twelve  hours.  One  real  advantage  of  the  eight-hour 
shift  was  the  fact  that  in  emergencies  the  men  were  more 


GLASS  AND  CEMENT  87 

willing  to  double  shifts  and  work  sixteen  hours,  than  they 
had  been  under  the  old  system  to  work  twenty-four  hours. 

Among  the  officers  of  an  Illinois  cement  company,  known 
for  its  exceptionally  high  efficiency,  there  was  a  measure  of 
the  same  difference  of  opinion  and  uncertainty  regarding  the 
net  effects  of  three-shift  operation.  But  here  there  was  no 
question  but  that  the  work  went  better,  the  difference  of 
opinion  being  as  to  whether,  considering  wage  increases,  the 
system  cost  more.  Under  the  three-shift  system,  the  output 
in  barrels  per  man-hour  increased  about  10  per  cent.,  but 
the  management  was  disposed  to  attribute  that  gain,  not  so 
much  to  increased  labor  efficiency,  as  to  large  expenditures 
made  during  this  same  period  for  equipment.  The  manage- 
ment is  divided  as  to  whether  the  new  equipment,  without 
the  three-shift  day,  could  have  produced  the  increase  in  out- 
put, but  it  was  the  opinion  of  the  official  who  discussed  the 
matter  that  the  greater  part  was  due  to  the  machinery. 
Nevertheless,  the  general  opinion  of  the  management  was 
that  the  eight-hour  shift  worked  much  more  satisfactorily 
than  the  old  arrangement  (which  was  really  an  alternation 
of  eleven-hour  and  thirteen-hour  shifts). 

One  feature  at  this  plant  which  complicates  somewhat  the 
forming  of  a  clear  understanding  of  the  results  due  to  the 
three-shift  system  alone  (as  contrasted  with  the  two-shift 
system)  is  the  fact  that  day-work,  as  well  as  shift-work,  was 
put  on  eight  hours.  There  are  certain  departments  where 
the  day  men  still,  on  occasion,  work  ten  hours.  The  man- 
agement said  that  in  some  of  the  departments  the  day-work- 
ers preferred  eight  hours,  but  that  in  one,  in  particular,  they 
preferred  ten  hours.  In  going  from  eight  to  ten  hours  at 
one  time  in  this  department,  the  company  found  that  the 
output  increased  25  per  cent.  In  the  case  of  this  company, 
it  was  thought  that  there  had  been  no  reduction  in  tlie  kiln 
room  manning  in  going  to  throe  shifts. 


88      THE  TWELVE-HOUR  SHIFT  IN  INDUSTRY 

A  Pacific  Coast  cement  company,  to  which  inquiries  were 
addressed,  reported  that  the  three-shift  system  had  been  in- 
stalled in  February,  1918;  that  there  had  been  a  50  per 
cent,  incretise  in  the  number  of  shift  employees,  without  any 
appreciable  effect  on  output,  or  other  gain  in  efficiency. 

While  it  is  possible  that  some  of  the  broader  assertions 
of  doubt  or  disbelief  in  improvement  in  efficiency  under  three 
shifts,  which  are  sometimes  met  with  among  cement  men, 
might  be  disproved  or  modified  by  a  first-hand  inquiry  into 
operating  conditions  in  the  plants,  it  is  quite  probable  that 
various  cement  plants  have  adopted  the  three-shift  plan  wnth- 
out  marked  gain  in  efficiency.  This  is  especially  likely  of 
concerns  which  made  the  change — as  all  those  so  far  described 
did — under  war  or  post-war  conditions,  when  it  was  exceed- 
ingly difficult,  even  under  improved  systems  of  management, 
to  counteract  the  general  tendency  towards  slackness,  con- 
fusion, and  inefficiency,  characteristic  of  the  period.  In  a 
study  of  the  effects  of  three-shift  operation,  it  is  highly  im- 
portant, therefore,  not  to  lay  too  much  stress  on  the  experi- 
ences of  those  plants  which  adopted  three  shifts  between 
1915-16  and  1919-20. 

Experience  of  Pla/nts  which  went  to  Three  Shifts  Prior  to  the 
War. 

In  the  cement  industry,  the  uncertainties  that  surround 
the  introduction  of  three  shifts  during  the  war  period  are 
considerably  clarified  by  recalling  the  testimony  given  prior 
to,  or  in  the  early  days  of,  the  War  with  reference  to  such 
concerns  as  the  Atlas  Portland  Cement  Company,  and  by 
noting  the  results  obtained  by  the  Dixie  Portland  Cement 
Company,  which  changed  to  three  shifts  about  April  1,  1921. 

The  Atlas  Portland  Cement  Company,  in  1920  the  third 
largest  in  the  country,  started  the  movement  towards  tliree 
shifts  in  the  cement  industry  some  years  ago  by  putting  its 


GLASS  AND  CEMENT  89 

northern  plants  on  that  basis.  According  to  published  state- 
ments made  in  1917  by  Mr.  Baker,^  then  with  the  company, 
the  gain  or  loss  which  would  be  apt  to  come  from  three  shifts 
would  depend  a  good  deal  on  whether  a  plant  was  well  bal- 
anced and  all  departments  were  running  near  capacity,  or 
whether  some  departments  were  running  only  part  time. 

**I  was  somewhat  puzzled,"  remarked  Mr.  Baker,  "when 
I  heard  Mr.  Bisscll  talking,  as  to  whether  he  was  referring 
to  an  eight-hour  day  for  a  mill  that  was  loaded  down 
pretty  heavily — what  we  might  call  a  well-balanced  mill — or 
whether  he  was  speaking  of  a  mill  long  on  the  clinker  side  or 
long  on  the  raw  side. 

"I  would  say  that  a  plant  today  that  is  loaded  down 
heavily,  well-balanced,  running  two  full  shifts,  day  and 
night,  seven  days  a  week — that  there  are  many  advantages 
to  be  gained  by  the  eight-hour  day.  Undoubtedly  you  will 
increase  your  output.  If  you  are  running  very  close  now 
(that  is,  with  small  production),  you  cannot  help  but  have 
a  higher  cost.  .  .  . 

"In  many  cases  there  are  certain  labor  conditions  that 
can  be  straightened  out  effectively  by  cutting  down  the  num- 
ber of  hours.  It  has  been  my  experience,  and  I  think  the 
experience  of  everyone,  that  every  plant  that  is  operated  on 
an  eight-hour  shift,  three  shifts  a  day,  thirty-one  days  a 
month,  running  it  right  through,  changing  shifts  every  week 
and  making  the  cycle  every  three  weeks,  gets  very  efficient 
operation, 

"There  is  one  thing  I  might  say  further  in  regard  to 
what  Mr.  Brobston  brought  up  in  his  paper  about  the  labor 
turnover.  We  have  found  it  considerably  less  on  our  eight- 
hour  shifts  than  we  found  it  on  our  regular  yard  and  quarry 

'  See  * '  Labor  Turnover  and  the  Employment  Problem  in  Cement 
Plants,"  a  paper  read  by  Joseph  Brobston  at  the  fall  meeting  of  the 
Portland  Cement  Association,  September  11,  1917,  and  published,  with 
discussion,  by  the  I'ortland  Cement  Aasociation. 


90      THE  TWELVE-HOUR  SHIFT  IN  INDUSTRY 

and  outside  men  who  work  nine  or  ten  hours  at  our  plants 
...  [In  making  a  study  of  labor  turnover  it  was  discov- 
ered] that  about  SS^A  per  cent,  of  the  men  had  been  with 
us  five  years  or  more;  33 Vs  per  cent,  two  years  or  more, 
33 Vs  per  cent,  less  than  six  months  [figures  as  given].  But 
when  we  worked  that  out  among  our  shift  men,  we  found  a 
ratlier  surprising  condition — 85  per  cent,  of  the  eight-hour 
shift  men  had  been  with  the  company  over  five  years.  This 
shows  that  the  men  like  the  eight-hour  day." 

In  the  course  of  the  same  discussion,  further  figures  were 
presented  by  Mr.  Bissell  of  the  Texas  Portland  Cement 
Company : 

"A  few  weeks  ago  I  was  in  California.  Mr.  Carl 
Leonardt  has  a  kiln  there  that  is  the  same  size  as  one  I  have 
at  Houston.  He  is  working  his  burners  on  eight-hour  shifts, 
getting  about  7,000  barrels  a  month  more  for  that  kiln  than 
I  am  at  Houston.  If  that  is  the  case,  it  might  pay  me  to  go 
to  an  eight-hour  shift  for  my  burners." 

Later,  with  reference  to  the  experience  of  his  own  com- 
pany in  reducing  the  day  in  the  clinker  department  from 
twelve  to  ten  hours,  Mr.  Bissell  added: 

"We  found  on  our  clinker  side  that  when  we  cut  down 
our  men  to  ten  hours  we  increased  the  efficiency  of  that  de- 
partment at  least  25  per  cent.  We  were  grinding  at  the 
rate  of  less  than  4,000  barrels  on  two  twelve-hour  shifts,  and 
today  we  grind  at  the  rate  of  5,500  barrels  a  day  on  the 
shorter  shift." 

A  Plant  Which  Went  to  Three  Shifts  in  1921. 

The  case  of  the  Dixie  Portland  Cement  Company  is  of 
interest  because  the  change  occurred  as  recently  as  April, 
1921,  and  because  it  is  a  southern  plant  (near  Chattanooga) 
employing  about  40  or  50  per  cent,  colored  labor.  A  large  pro* 
portion  of  the  colored  men  are  in  tlie  quarry  or  elsewhere 


GLASS  AND  CEMENT  91 

on  day-work;  but  there  are  also  a  considerable  number 
engaged  on  shift-work. 

In  this  plant  the  change  from  two  to  three  shifts  was  a 
distinct  source  of  profit.  The  wages  of  the  men  were  in- 
creased from  thirty-three  cents  an  hour  to  forty  cents,  that 
is,  men  on  the  eight-hour  shift  received  three  dollars  and 
twenty  cents  a  day,  as  compared  with  three  dollars  and 
thirty  cents  a  day  received  by  ten-hour  employees.  Thus, 
in  going  from  twelve  to  eight  hours,  the  men  gave  up  the 
differential  which,  as  twelve-hour  men,  they  had  formerly 
received  over  ten-hour  men,  but  the  hourly  pay  of  the  eight- 
hour  men  was  so  adjusted  that  their  daily  earnings  did  not 
(for  those  receiving  the  base  rate)  drop  more  than  ten  cents 
below  that  of  the  ten-hour  men.  Later,  at  the  beginning  of 
1922,  the  rates  were  changed  to  thirty  cents  an  hour  for 
ten-hour  men  and  thirty-six  cents  an  hour  for  eight-hour 
men.  It  will  be  observed  by  those  familiar  with  base  rates 
as  they  ran  in  different  parts  of  the  country  in  1921  that  the 
rates  above  quoted,  even  the  new  thirty  cent  rate  for  ten- 
hour  work,  were  well  up  to  the  standard  prevailing  for  this 
kind  of  work  in  the  North,  and  much  above  the  level  common 
in  the  South. 

But  the  gain  in  efficiency  due  to  going  to  three  shifts 
would  have  wiped  out  a  much  greater  increase  in  hourly 
wage-rates  than  that  which  the  company  made.  In  the  first 
place,  three  shifts  required  no  more  men.  Taking  all  the 
shift-work,  which  includes  between  40  and  50  per  cent,  of 
the  employees,  the  introduction  of  a  third  shift  was  accom- 
panied by  only  a  slight  increase  in  the  number  of  men  and 
this  small  increase  in  the  number  of  shift-workers  was  bal- 
anced by  a  decrease  in  the  number  of  day-workers.  The 
hours  of  day-workers  were  not  changed  from  the  old  stand- 
ard of  ten  hours.  But  the  pace  of  the  day-workers  had 
previously  been  influenced  by  the  pace  set  by  the  twelve-hour 


92      THE  TWELVE-HOUR  SHIFT  IN  INDUSTRY 

workers,  so  that  the  removal  of  the  slack  from  among  the 
shift-workers  resulted  in  better  work  on  the  part  of  all  those 
employed  in  the  plant.  The  degree  to  which  the  manning 
scale  could  be  cut  varied,  of  course,  in  different  departments. 
But  it  was  not  an  uncommon  thing  where  four  men  were 
employed  on  each  of  two  shifts  to  get  along  with  three  men 
on  each  of  three  shifts,  or  even  less.  Thus  in  the  kiln  room 
it  was  possible  to  get  along  with  two  kiln  fironien  or  burners 
on  each  of  three  shifts  in  place  of  three  burners  on  each  of 
two  shifts — six  altogether  under  either  system.  But  count- 
ing all  the  men  in  the  kiln  room  this  was  one  of  the  depart- 
ments where  it  took  a  few  more  men  on  three  shifts  than 
on  two.  In  the  finished  grinding  room  the  head  grinder 
took  over  the  work  of  the  oiler,  thus  eliminating  a  job,  and 
similar  adjustments  were  made  elsewhere  in  grinding.  In 
the  case  of  the  boiler  room  (employing  colored  labor),  they 
were  able  to  get  along  with  as  few  men  on  three  shifts  as 
they  had  previously  had  on  two.  In  the  case  of  the  engineers 
and  oilers  (who  were  white)  it  was  possible  to  eliminate  a 
few,  but  not  to  make  a  striking  saving.  There  was  not  a 
single  department,  however,  which  changed  over  from  two  to 
three  shifts,  where  the  change  was  not  a  tangible  gain. 

It  is  what  the  management  call  the  intangible  gains  which 
they  regard  as  of  most  importance.  IJnd'^r  the  twelve-hour 
system  the  men  would  get  to  work  just  in  time  and  then 
change  their  clothes  after  their  hours  of  duty  had  begun. 
Now  tlie  men  are  ready  to  begin  work  when  their  turn  starts. 
Similarly  at  the  close  of  the  twelve-hour  shift,  the  manage- 
ment formerly  allowed  the  men  to  get  ready  to  go  home  on 
the  company's  time.  They  were  supposed  to  take  about 
fifteen  or  twenty  minutes.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  they  would 
start  three-quarters  of  an  hour  alicad  and  that  meant  not 
only  that  production  slowed  up,  but  during  the  last  throe- 
quarters  of  an  hour  there  was  more  breakage  of  machinery, 


GLASS  AND  CEMENT  93 

In  many  respects  other  than  these,  it  was  possible  and  rea- 
sonable to  bear  down  on  the  men  and  uphold  discipline  more 
firmly  on  the  eight-hour  shift  than  had  been  the  practice  on 
the  twelve-hour  shift.  The  management  found  that  fear  of 
overwork  on  their  own  part  and  on  that  of  the  men,  had, 
under  the  twelve-hour  shift,  led  both  to  overmanning  and 
to  general  slackness. 

Notwithstanding  the  greatly  reduced  manning,  the  output 
from  equipjnent  was  increased.  Under  the  twelve-hour 
system,  seven  of  the  eight  kilns  were  about  as  many  as  it  was 
possible  to  keep  supplied  with  material.  The  employees 
hated  to  think  of  running  all  eight  at  one  time.  Now  the 
simultaneous  operation  of  eight  kilns  is  a  matter  of  course. 

The  production  records  of  the  Dixie  Portland  Cement 
Company  show  the  following  figures: 

Man-hours 
Year  per 

barrel 

1019 87 

1920 91 

1921 72 

Four  months,  ending  November  30,  1921 61  ' 

*  The  change  to  three-shift  operation  was  made  in  April,  1921. 

That  this  improvement  was  not  due  to  any  special  inefii- 
ciency  of  the  plant  under  the  old  system  is  indicated  by  the 
fact  that  of  the  nine  two-shift  cement  plants  in  the  class  of 
the  Dixie  Portland  Cement  Company  in  1920,  this  com- 
pany's efficiency  was  almost  exactly  at  the  arithmetical 
average  for  the  group — in  fact,  much  closer  to  the  average 
than  any  other  of  the  nine  plants. 

Both  white  and  colored  labor  have  increased  in  efficiency. 
The  eight-hour  shift  is  popular  with  both  races.  As  soon  as 
it  was  introduced,  white  men  who  had  never  before  offered 
to  work  in  the  cement  mill,  ap]ilied  for  cmploTmcnt.     Some 


94      THE  TWELVE-HOUR  SHIFT  IN  INDUSTRY 

time  previous  to  the  change  a  number  of  the  company's 

good  colored  men  had  been  attracted  elsewhere,  and  these 

came  back  when  the  change  in  shifts  was  made.     There  are 

many  applications  from  men  engaged  on  ten-hour  work  in  the 

quarry  or  elsewhere  to  get  on  eight-hour  shifts. 

The  accident  rates  are  about  the  same  as  in  1920.     The 
» 

management  thinks  there  has  been  some  elimination  of  ma- 
terial wastes  in  line  with  the  general  tightening  up  of  dis- 
cipline. It  is  thought  that  under  the  eight-hour  arrangement 
efficiency  is  as  good  by  night  as  by  day. 

The  company  operates  seven  days  a  week.  Once  a  month 
the  shifts  rotate.  At  this  time  two  sets  of  men  take  only 
eight  hours  off,  the  third  set  getting  thirty-two  hours  off. 
This  obviates  the  necessity  of  any  turn  for  shift-men  of  longer 
than  eight  hours. 

The  company's  quarry  is  operated  on  two  ten-hour  shifts. 
The  primary  crushing  runs  the  same  hours  as  the  quarry. 
All  processes  beyond  the  primary  crushing — down  to  the 
packing — are  on  continuous-operation.  While  there  is  some 
thought  among  the  management  that  the  day  men  might  be 
more  efficient  on  a  nine-hour  than  a  ten-hour  day,  they  do 
not  see  how,  with  their  machinery,  they  could  get  the  neces- 
sary work  done  in  nine  hours ;  they  are  committed,  therefore, 
to  the  ten-hour  day  for  day-workers. 


CHAPTER  VIII 
LIME,   BRICK,   POTTERY 

THE  LIME  INDUSTRY  GENERALLY  ON  TWO  SHIFTS 

The  lime  industry  is  in  some  respects  analogous  to  the 
cement  industry.  However,  it  does  not  have  the  extensive 
continuous  grinding  operations  which  in  cement  manufac- 
ture precede  and  fellow  the  burning,  and  hence  the  propor- 
tion of  continuous-operation  is  smaller  in  lime  than  in 
cement.  In  the  plants  personally  investigated  about  15  per 
cent,  of  the  men  were  on  shift -work. 

In  most  parts  of  the  country  the  lime  industry  is  on  a 
two-shift  basis.  This  is  particularly  true  of  the  East  and 
South. 

Experience  of  One  Company  with  Three  Shifts. 

The  only  lime  plants  in  the  eastern  part  of  the  country, 
not  on  two  shifts,  of  which  knowledge  could  be  obtained,  are 
the  two  plants  of  the  Charles  Warner  Company  near  Phila- 
delphia. The  change  to  three  shifts  was  put  into  effect  by 
Mr.  Irving  Warner,  the  general  plant  manager.  For  three 
years  Mr.  Warner  had  endeavored  to  get  the  men  to  accept 
three  shifts,  on  the  basis  of  some  rearrangement  of  the  work 
which  would  make  it  possible  for  the  company  to  compete 
with  plants  which  were  on  a  two-shift  basis,  but  the  men 
were  unwilling  to  undertake  more  work.  The  men  became 
interested,  however,  in  getting  Sunday  off  and  came  forward 
with  a  proposition  to  run  the  plant  six  days  a  week.     Mr. 

95 


96      THE  TWELVE-HOUR  SHIFT  IN  INDUSTRY 

Warner,  not  thinking  that  would  work  out  satisfactorily,  sug- 
gested that,  before  pressing  that  request,  they  give  a  trial  to 
his  own  scheme  for  working  eight-hour  shifts. 

The  foremen  and  men  were  opposed  to  three  shifts  and 
were  reluctant  to  make  a  trial,  preferring  to  work  easily  for 
twelve  hours  rather  than  hard  for  eight  hours.  It  developed, 
however,  that  most  of  the  men  working  on  one  battery  wished 
to  work  eight  hours,  while  those  on  the  other  battery  wished 
to  remain  on  twelve.  The  men  on  the  one  battery  were  told 
to  appoint  a  committee.  The  manager  drew  up  a  new 
manning  scale,  so  designed  that  the  same  number  of  men 
who  had  operated  the  battery  on  two  shifts  could  assume  the 
responsibility  for  three  shifts.  He  presented  the  schedule  to 
the  committee,  who  made  one  small  change.  It  was  arranged 
that  the  three-shift  plan  should  go  into  effect  on  the  one 
battery  on  Sunday.  When  the  manager  came  round  on  Sun- 
day he  found  both  batteries  running  on  three  shifts.  They 
have  been  running  three  shifts  ever  since. 

The  arrangement  of  continuous  work  in  a  lime  kiln  so 
that  each  man  can  do  50  per  cent,  more  work  is  often  difficult, 
for  the  reason  that  the  number  of  men  is  small,  and  the  layout 
is  such  that  there  is  no  simple  way  of  giving  a  man  50  per 
cent,  more  work.  In  the  two  plants  of  the  Charles  Warner 
Company  there  were  three  different  situations,  each  offering 
its  own  problem  in  the  way  of  a  reallocation  of  the  work 
which  would  give  the  necessary  increase  in  rospouslbility. 
The  manner  in  which  the  problem  was  solved  shows  how  a 
management  can  find  satisfactory  ways  of  changing  to  three- 
shift  operation. 

Methods  and  Results. 

The  Charles  Warner  Company  has  two  lime  plants,  a 
large  one  at  Cedar  Hollow  with  two  main  kiln  groups,  and 
the  McCoy  plant,  which  is  much  smaller.     Table  4  shows 


LIME,   BRICK,   POTTERY 


97 


the  manning  scale  on  two  shifts  and  on  three  shifts  so  far 
as  concerns  the  continuous  work  on  the  "small  kiln"  group 
at  the  Cedar  Hollow  Plant.  The  seven  small  kilns  which 
make  up  the  "small  kiln"  group  have  two  furnaces  each. 

TABLE  4 

Showing  How  Nine  Men  Working  Eight-Hour  Shifts  Did  Work  of 
Ten  Men  Working  Twelve-Hour  Shifts,  Small  Lime  Kilns, 
Cedar  Hollow  Plant,  Charles  Warner  Company 


Two-shift  system 
Fireman 


Drawman 

(assisted    by , 
firemen      on 
No.  6) 


Fireman 

Fireman 

{assists 

drawman) 

Fireman 


Kiln  1 

Kiln  2 

lOn  3 

Kiln  4 
{  Kiln  5 

Kiln  6 
Kiln  7 


Three-shift  system 

I^ihi  1 


Fireman 


Number  men  each  shift 5 

Total  two  shifts 10 


Kiln  2 

Kiln  3 

Drawman  {  \  Kiln  4 

Kiln  5 

Kiln  6 

Kiln  7 

Number  men  each  shift 3 

Total  three  shifts 9 


Fireman  i 


Under  the  old  system,  each  fireman  had  two  kilns  (or 
four  furnaces,  altogether).  Under  the  three-shift  system  he 
was  assigned  three-and-one-half  kilns  (or  seven  furnaces  alto- 
gether). The  drawman  dispensed  with  the  aid  he  had  for- 
merly received  from  one  of  the  firemen,  thus  making  it 
possible  for  each  of  the  firemen  to  handle  a  full  quota  of 
kilns. 

This  plan  was  not  hard  to  arrange.  A  more  complex 
situation  arose  when  it  came  to  putting  the  other  kiln  group 
at  the  large  plant  on  three  shifts.  This  included  a  large 
producer  gas  kiln,  three  or  four  times  the  capacity  of  an 


98      THE  TWELVE-HOUR  SHIFT  IN  INDUSTRY 

ordinary  kiln,  and  some  double  and  single  kilns.^     Table  5 
shows  how  this  second  problem  was  solved. 


TABLE  5 

Showing  How  Twelve  Men  Working  Eight-Hour  Shifts  Did  Work 
OF  IVelve  Men  Working  Twelve-Hour  Shifts  (With  Slight 
Amount  of  Help  from  Outside),  Large  Lime  Kilns,  Cedab 
Hollow  Plant,  Charles  Warner  Company 


Two-shift  system 


Three-shift  system 


Drawman 


Fireman 

(assisted 
by  fireman 
on  No.  10) 
Fireman     r 
{also      J 

helper      |  Kihi 

on  No.  21)  I 

_,.  f  Double 

Fireman    -* 


Very 

large     21 
kihi 


10 


Fireman 


Fireman 


\  IvHn  12 

fOn  13 

Kiln  14 

Kiln  15 

Kiln  16 


Drawman 

(assists  in  fir- 
ing Kiln  No. 
21 .  Is  in  turn 
assisted  in 
drawing  by 
lime  hoist- 
man) 


Fireman 

(assisted 
by  draw- 
man) 


"Very 
large      21 
kihi 


Fireman 


LKUn  10 

Double 

Kiln  12 

Kiln  13 

Kin  14 

Fireman  {  Kiln  15 

Kiln  16 


Number  men  each  shift 6 

Total  two  shifts 12 


Number  men  each  shift 4 

Total  three  shifts 12 

(with   a   little   help  from  lime 

hoistman) 

It  will  be  observed  that  the  standard  task  was  increased 
from  two  single  kilns  (or  four  furnaces)  on  the  twelve-hour 

'  It  is  to  he  notofl  that  a  double  kiln  requires  twice  the  labor  of  a 
single  kiln.  Theoretically  the  large  producer  {^as  kiln,  No.  21,  has  the 
status  of  a  double  kiln;  but  it  has  been  the  usual  practice  under  both 
the  two-shift  and  the  three-shift  system  to  allow  extra  help  on  this  kiln, 
so  as  to  keep  it  in  rapid  and  officicnt  operation.  Hence  in  the  diagram, 
No.  21  is  represented  as  tliouph  it  were  the  equivalent  of  three  kilns  (so 
far  as  concerns  the  allocation  of  labor).  This  is  only  approximately 
correct. 


LIME,  BRICK,  POTTERY  99 

shift  to  three  single  kilns  (or  six  furnaces)  on  the  eight-hour 
shift.  The  division  of  responsibilities  under  the  new  plan 
did  not  come  out  quite  even,  and  it  will  be  noted  that  a 
little  help  was  given  the  drawman  by  a  man  outside  the 
group,  the  lime  hoistman.^ 

The  Cedar  Hollow  plant  also  has  a  rotary  kiln.  This 
was  originally  on  two  twelve-hour  shifts,  the  manning  of 
each  shift  consisting  of  one  man  who  took  care  of  the  pro- 
ducer and  firing  end  of  the  kiln,  and  a  second  who  took  care 
of  the  machinery,  including  the  subsequent  lime  grinding. 
However,  it  was  also  necessary,  as  the  kiln  was  fired  by  pro- 
ducer gas,  to  bring  round  a  gang  of  men  daily  to  clean  these 
producers.  This  made  a  considerable  delay.  Later  the 
rotary  kiln  was  put  on  three  eight-hour  shifts,  but  the  regular 
force  were  allowed  an  hour's  extra  pay  for  cleaning  the  two 
producers  f  which  they  did,  one  producer  during  each  of  two 
periods  of  overlap,  which  occurred  between  shifts.  As  there 
were  four  good  men  present  during  each  period  of  cleaning, 
the  men  could  make  a  very  quick  job  of  it.  More  recently, 
the  conditions  on  the  rotary  kiln  have  all  been  changed,  due  to 
the  installation  of  other  equipment,  but  the  above  was  the 
manner  in  which  the  problem  was  solved  at  the  time. 

The  situation  at  the  McCoy  plant  was  the  most  difficult  to 
adjust.  Here  were  two  double  kilns  fired  by  one  man  each,  the 
firemen  drawing  the  kilns  for  one  another;  but  in  the  summer 

'The  position  of  lime  hoistnian  also  constitutes  a  continuous  occu- 
pation, one  man  scrvinfi^  both  batteries  of  kilns.  It,  too,  was  changed 
from  two  twelve-hour  to  three  eight-hour  shifts,  thereby  entailing  the 
coat  of  one  extra  man.  But  the  lime  hoistmen,  uuder  tlie  new  arrange- 
ment, were  able  to  give  suflicient  help  to  the  drawmen  on  the  large  kilns 
to  avoid  the  necessity  of  any  increase  in  manning  on  the  large  kilns  and 
the  increase  by  one  in  their  own  number  was  exactly  balanced  by  the 
saving  of  one  man  which  occurred  on  the  small  kilns.  Thus  taking  the 
largo  kilns,  the  small  kihn,  and  the  lime  hoistmen  together,  the  change 
to  eight  hours  was  made  without  increase  in  personnel,  there  being 
twenty-four  men  employed  both  before  and  after  the  change  was  put 
into  effect. 

•That  is,  the  men  were  allowed  nine  hours'  pay  for  eight  houra' 
work  plus  the  cleaning  of  the  producers. 


100    THE    TWELVE-HOUR  SHIFT  IN  INDUSTRY 

an  extra  man  was  employed.  Taking  {he  year  as  a  whole, 
therefore,  the  average  number  of  firemen  per  shift  was  two- 
and-one-half — two  in  the  winter,  and  three  in  summer.  Since 
these  were  hirge  kilns,  and  the  oidy  ones  in  the  plant,  so 
that  no  one  else  could  be  drawn  on  for  help,  the  number  of 
firemen  was  left  at  two,  (winter  and  summer).  Thus  under 
the  three-shift  system  it  took  six  firemen,  whore  under  the 
two-shift  system  the  average  for  the  year  had  been  five.  This 
increase  in  the  average  number  of  firemen  required  was  com- 
pensated for  by  an  arrangement  by  which  the  men  worked 
nine  hours  instead  of  eight,  so  that  two  men  might  work 
together  at  poking  the  lime  during  the  period  of  overlap. 
This  meant  that  the  kilns  were  kept  open  only  half  as  long, 
and  the  saving  in  the  loss  of  heat,  due  to  the  greater  speed 
with  which  the  work  was  done,  was  important  enough  to 
make  up  for  the  increase  in  labor  cost. 

Because  of  the  drastic  cutting  of  manning  scales  the  com- 
pany was  able  to  pay  the  men  as  much  for  eight  hours  as 
they  had  formerly  received  for  twelve.  To  be  precise,  the 
pay  was  four  cents  a  day  more.  If  a  man  is  called  on  to 
work  beyond  the  eight  hours,  it  is  at  the  old  twelve-hour 
rate,  two-thirds  of  the  new  rate,  the  opposite  of  the  method 
of  paying  for  overtime  usually  employed.  But  overtime 
work  rarely  occurs.  One  of  the  interesting  features  of  the 
experience  of  this  company  with  the  three-shift  system  was 
the  fact  that  after  the  new  schedule  had  been  established 
calling  as  it  did  for  50  per  cent,  more  work  per  hour  (but 
one-third  fewer  hours),  it  became  popular  with  everyone. 

It  is  held  by  this  company  that  one  of  the  reasons  why 
it  is  more  important  now  than  in  former  years  to  have  a 
short  shift  in  the  lime  industry  is  the  fact  that  lime  manu- 
facture has  become  less  intermittent.  The  development  of 
the  hydratcd  lime  process  and  the  buildiug  of  more  adequate 
storage  capacity  has  reduced  materially  the  number  of  days 


LIME,  BRICK,   POTTERY  101 

of  idle  time  through  the  year.  Formerly  the  men  would 
often  get  off  because  of  protracted  wet  weather  and  on  Sun- 
days, when  business  frequently  was  lighter.  This  has  been 
changed,  because  of  the  present  methods  of  hydrating  surplus 
production. 

Other  Companies. 

It  was  learned  through  correspondence  that  a  lime  plant 
in  Virginia  had  tried  three  shifts  with  firemen  for  a  period 
of  two  years  and  then  gone  back  to  two  shifts.  The  president 
stated  that  on  going  to  three  shifts  the  plant  efficiency  fell 
off  about  20  per  cent,  and  that  on  going  back  to  two  shifts 
they  regained  25  per  cent.  The  nature  of  this  loss  in  effi- 
ciency was  not  brought  out  in  the  correspondence.  The  head 
of  the  company  stated  that  the  plant  was  small,  that  their 
information  was  not  in  statistical  form,  and  that  he  did  not 
think  their  experience  important  enough  to  warrant  its  study. 

In  the  Chattanooga  district  the  two-shift  twelves-hour 
system  has  been,  so  far  as  known,  the  exclusive  practice  for 
half  a  century  at  least. 

In  the  middle-west  district  (centering  in  Illinois)  the 
three-shift  system  in  lime  burning  has  not  been  uncommon. 
According  to  a  letter  received  from  the  secretary  of  the 
Central  Bureau  of  the  Nation'.i  Lime  Association,  of  twelve 
member  plants,  four  were  employing  the  three-shift  system, 
seven  the  two-shift  system,  and  one  had  tried  the  three-shift 
plan  and  changed  back  to  two.  However,  it  seems  that  in 
this  district  the  two-shift  plan  is  so  operated  as  not  to  involve 
more  than  ten  hours  of  work  by  the  men. 

"At  the  end  of  one  shift  the  fires  will  carry  over  fairly 
well,  while  at  the  end  of  the  other  there  is  always  someone 
around  to  replenish  them  between  shifts.  Another  difficulty 
that  enters  is  that  most  kilns  do  better  when  drawn  four 
times  in  twenty-four  hours.     This  means  under  the  three- 


102    THE    TWELVE-HOUR  SHIFT  IN  INDUSTRY 

shift  plan  that  one  man  must  draw  a  kiln  twice  while  the 
other  two  draw  but  once  and  this  leads  to  difficulties." 


BRICK  AND  TILE 

As  already  noted,  in  the  manufacture  of  brick  and  tile 
(as  well  as  of  pottery  and  other  clay  products),  the  main  labor 
is  in  the  shaping  and  movement  of  the  product,  operations 
which  are  performed  in  the  daytime  only.  In  typical  brick- 
making  plants  it  has  been  found  that  the  continuous-opera- 
tions require  about  11  per  cent,  of  the  total  employees.  Much 
depends  on  the  type  of  brick  and  the  plant.  In  some  plants 
the  proportion  of  shift-workers  is  less  than  11  per  cent. 
This  is  true  especially  of  plants  using  gas  instead  of  coal 
as  fuel.  Considering  that  there  may  be  only  fifty  or  eighty 
employees  in  a  fairly  good  sized  brick  plant,  the  few  men 
employed  on  shift-work  may  seem  to  be  almost  negligible. 
When  it  is  considered,  however,  that  there  are  in  the  United 
States  more  than  100,000  men  employed  in  the  brick  indus- 
tries,* it  is  seen  that  these  groups  of  five  or  ten  men  added 
together  would,  on  the  11  per  cent,  basis,  amount  to  11,000 
persons.  Even  if  the  average  proportion  of  shift  men  be 
somewhat  less  than  11  per  cent.,  their  numbers  would  still 
be  well  in  the  thousands. 

A  Twelve-Hour  Schedule  Usual. 

In  actual  practice  little  brick  burning  is  on  less  than  a 
twelve-hour  shift  schedule.  In  or  near  some  of  the  largest 
cities  of  the  East  the  hours  exceed  twelve.  In  the  Hudson 
River  district  common  brick  plants,  burners  and  their  assist- 
ants work  eighteen  hours  out  of  each  twenty-four,  the  assist- 
ant taking  charge  during  the  six  hours  while  the  burner  is 

*  Census  of   1914.     In   the  year   1919  the  number   of  wage  earners 
reported  was  only  77,000. 


LIME,  BRICK,   POTTERY  103 

away.  This  system  of  eighteen  hours  on,  six  hours  off,  is 
continued  for  about  five  days  and  five  nights  until  the  kiln 
is  finished. 

In  the  common  brick  plants  of  Philadelphia  the  former 
arrangement  was  for  burners  and  assistants  to  work  thirty- 
six  hours  at  a  stretch,  then  take  twelve  hours  off,  and  come 
on  again  for  another  thirty-six  hours.  Later  this  system  was 
changed  to  the  present  practice  under  which  the  burner  works 
twenty-four  hours  on  and  twenty-four  hours  off,  while  the 
assistants  still  work  thirty-six  hours  on  and  twelve  hours  off. 

The  management  of  a  Philadelphia  plant  investigated 
claimed  that  the  men  wanted  the  above  arrangement.  Objec- 
tion was  made  when  the  burners'  hours  were  shortened  from 
thirty-six  to  twenty-four.  The  helpers,  under  the  present 
arrangement,  get  three  days'  pay  every  forty-eight  hours. 

The  total  force  of  burners  at  this  plant  (which  burns  one 
kiln  at  a  time)  consists  of  two  burners  and  three  helpers. 
Under  the  twenty-four-hour  system  for  burners,  and  the 
thirty-six-hour  system  for  helpers,  one  burner  and  two 
helpers  are  on  duty  at  all  times.  The  burners  do  little  of 
the  actual  firing,  which  is  mainly  done  by  the  two  burners' 
helpers,  working  one  on  each  side  of  the  kiln.  The  firing 
takes  about  fifteen  minutes,  and  then  the  men  have  about 
thirty  minutes  to  rest  before  firing  for  another  fifteen 
minutes.  The  burning  of  a  kiln  is  completed  in  slightly 
less  than  ninety-six  hours.  The  engineers  at  this  plant  were 
also  on  twelve-hour  shifts. 

Thus  taking  the  plant  as  a  whole,  out  of  a  total  force  of 
about  seventy-five  employees,  there  were  on  long  shifts  two 
burners,  throe  burner's  helpers,  and  two  engineers.  Had  the 
assistant  burners  been  on  twelve-  or  twenty-four-hour,  instead 
of  thirty-six-hour,  shifts,  there  would  have  been  four  instead 
of  three  helpers,  which  would  have  brought  the  proportion 
of  workers  on  twelve  hours  (or  the  equivalent)  to  IQi/^  per 


104    THE  TWELVE-HOUR  SHIFT  IN  INDUSTRY 

cent.  Of  the  other  employees  in  the  plant,  those  on  the  brick 
machines  worked  about  eight  hours  per  day,  kiln  builders 
worked  piece-work,  and  common  labor  day-work  for  ten 
hours, 

Outsido  of  New  York  and  Philadelphia,  these  systems 
of  eightecn-hour,  twenty-four-hour  and  thirty-six-hour  shifts, 
which  are  in  those  cities  regarded  as  the  natural  practices  in 
brick-making,  were  not  found  by  the  investigator.  The 
twelve-hour  shift  is  the  general  rule.  The  kiln  fireman  fol- 
lows a  twelve-hour  schedule  for  the  greater  part  of  a  week 
until  the  kiln  is  done.  Then  he  may  immediately  fire  an- 
other kiln  or  have  a  waiting  period,  during  which  he  works 
on  a  day-work  basis  for  ten  hours.  There  are  a  number  of 
plants  in  various  parts  of  the  country  where  the  work  is  so 
arranged  that  the  fireman  or  burner  may  get  off  at  the  end 
of  about  eleven  hours. 

The  investigation  disclosed  no  three-shift  brick  plant  in 
the  parts  of  Pennsylvania  visited,  though  the  inquiry,  of 
course,  could  not  be  exhaustive.  The  industry  in  the  South, 
also,  is  on  two  shifts,  except  in  Texas,  where  it  is  reported 
that  there  are  some  three-shift  operations. 

The  investigation  showed  no  three-shift  brick  plant  in 
Ohio.  It  was  reported  that  a  paving  brick  company  at  Can- 
ton had  tried  three-shift  operations.  But  on  investigation  it 
developed  that  the  management  had  been  trying  for  fifteen 
years  to  get  the  men  to  adopt  three  shifts,  but  the  men  would 
not  accept  a  basis  which  the  company  regarded  as  commer- 
cially feasible.  The  management  believed  that  men  working 
eight  hours  should  forego  the  differential  which  as  twelve- 
hour  men  they  had  previously  enjoyed  over  the  rcguhir  ten- 
hour  men.  The  company  was  ready  to  give  ten  hours'  pay 
for  eight  hours'  work,  but  was  unwilling  to  pay  the  eight- 
hour  men  more  than  was  received  by  the  mass  of  employees 
whose  day  was  ten  hours. 


LIME,  BRICK,  POTTERY  105 

An  Experiment  in  West  Virginia. 

The  investigation  revealed  that  three-shift  operation  had 
been  given  a  trial  in  the  plants  of  a  large  brick  company 
located  in  West  Virginia.  About  1914  the  company  made 
a  first  move  towards  three  shifts  by  putting  its  head  burners 
on  that  basis.  After  a  while  the  management  believed  that 
the  division  of  responsibility  among  three  instead  of  two 
men  was  unsatisfactory,  so  it  put  the  head  burners  back  on 
two  shifts  and  tried  their  helpers  on  three  shifts.  This 
method  worked  satisfactorily  and  the  plan  was  followed  for 
several  years. 

The  number  of  kilns  fired  varies  from  time  to  time. 
When  eight  kilns  were  in  operation  no  more  helpers  were 
required  to  handle  three  shifts  than  two.  When  firing  eight 
kilns  on  two  shifts,  the  company  employed  two  head  burners 
(one  on  each  shift)  and  six  helpers  (three  on  each  shift), 
making  eight  men  altogether.  When  operating  eight  kilns 
on  three  shifts,  the  company  used  two  head  burners  (twelve- 
hour  shifts)  and  six  helpers  (two  on  each  shift),  still  making 
eight  men.  But  it  was  only  infrequently  that  eight  kilns  was 
the  number  in  operation.  When  the  number  was  seven,  the 
company  employed  only  two  helpers  on  each  of  the  two  shifts, 
and  required  two  also  on  each  of  the  three  shifts.  Under 
these  circumstances  it  took  50  per  cent,  more  helpers  on 
three  shifts.  This  did  not  necessarily  mean  extra  cost,  for 
the  men  were  paid  only  for  the  time  they  worked.  Wage- 
rates  were  advanced  at  the  time  of  putting  the  helpers  on 
three  shifts,  but  this  would  probably  have  occurred  had 
there  been  no  change  in  the  shift  system.  While  on  the 
whole  the  results  of  this  company's  putting  its  helpers  on 
three  shifts  were  neutral,  or,  at  the  best,  slightly  beneficial, 
the  management  did  not  regard  the  trial  as  a  fair  test  of  the 
value  of  three  shifts.     Conditions  were  cxtraordinarilv  bad 


106    THE  TWELVE-HOUR  SHIFT  IN  INDUSTRY 

for  getting  labor  efficiency  at  the  time,  and  the  management 
thought  it  might  have  been  able  to  accomplish  more  in  the 
way  of  improvement,  had  the  trial  of  three  shifts  been  under 
other  conditions. 

Owing  to  a  labor  shortage  the  company  put  its  helpers 
back  on  twelve-hour  shifts  in  1917.  The  helpers,  who  were 
foreign  and  of  the  older  un-American  type,  welcomed  the 
return  to  the  longer  hours  with  their  greater  pay.  As  long 
as  they  employ  this  type  of  labor  the  management  believes 
that  two  shifts  will  be  more  satisfactory  to  the  men  and 
mean  smoother  running  for  the  plant. 

It  is  of  interest  to  note  that  the  opposite  attitude  towards 
hours  was  taken  by  the  American-born,  or  Americanized  day- 
workers  in  the  company's  shops.  The  men  who  make  the 
brick  are  firm  for  an  eight-hour  day,  even  as  opposed  to  a 
nine-hour  day.  The  company  had  been  operating  its  shops 
nine  hours.  An  eight-hour  day  was  established  in  an  in^ 
dustry  across  the  river.  To  meet  this,  the  management  pro- 
posed to  the  men  that,  instead  of  cutting  hours,  the  men 
take  more  pay.  The  men  refused  and  asked  for  the  cut  in 
hours  with  the  same  pay.  Later  when  the  question  of  re- 
ducing wages  arose,  the  management  again  went  to  the  men 
and  suggested  that,  instead  of  taking  a  cut  in  wages,  the 
men  work  nine  hours  for  the  same  money  previously  received 
for  eight  hours.  Again  the  men  refused,  preferring  to  take 
the  cut.  This  same  attitude  towards  hours  was  taken  by 
the  men  in  the  boiler  room.  The  boiler  firemen  are  still  on 
three  shifts. 

Experiences  in  the  West. 

A  firebrick  plant  in  Minneapolis  tried  three  eight-hour 
shifts  with  the  burners  for  a  few  months.  The  division  of 
responsibility  among  three  men  was  unsatisfactory. 

Detailed    information    has    been    secured    concerning    a 


LIME,  BRICK,  POTTERY  107 

Seattle,  Washington,  brick  company  which  a  number  of  years 
ago  put  at  least  one,  and  possibly  other,  of  its  six  plants  on 
three  shifts.  The  work  periods  were  nine  rather  than  eight 
hours  long,  so  as  to  provide  double  gangs  three  times  a  day 
when  the  fires  were  cleaned.  This  doubling  up  at  the  time  of 
the  hardest  work  made  it  possible  to  cut  down  the  number  of 
men  on  a  shift  so  that  only  a  slight  increase  in  personnel 
was  required.  Thus  twelve  kiln  firemen  working  on  three 
overlapping  shifts  of  nine  hours  each  (four  on  a  shift)  were 
able  to  do  the  same  firing  that  twelve  men  working  on  two 
shifts  of  twelve  hours  each  (six  on  a  shift)  had  done.  The 
only  increase  in  personnel  was  in  the  case  of  the  burner, 
it  being  necessary  to  have  three  burners  where  before  there 
were  two.  Thus  the  total  force  of  burners  and  firemen  on 
two  twelve-hour  shifts  was  fourteen,  and  on  three  nine-hour 
shifts,  fifteen. 

Three-Shift  in  Illinois — A  Face  Brick  Plant. 

It  is  chiefly  in  Illinois,  however,  that  the  three-shift 
system  in  burning  brick  has  been  given  wide  application. 

The  W-Company's  plant  is  said  to  be  the  largest  face 
brick  plant  in  steady  operation  in  the  United  States.  It  has 
sixty-three  kilns,  of  which  twenty-five  to  thirty  are  on 
fire  at  one  time:  perhaps  two-thirds  of  these  are  "hot." 
Until  about  1915  this  plant  had  been  operated  on  two  shifts. 
Its  employees  are  organized,  and  for  several  years  had  been 
asking  for  a  three-shift  day.  About  1915  the  company  agreed 
to  go  on  three-shift  operation.  Simultaneously  a  piece-rate 
system  was  introduced  by  which  the  men  were  paid  so  much 
per  "kiln  day." 

Prior  to  changing  from  two  to  three  shifts,  the  maximimi 
work  assigned  to  one  man  was  one  hot  kiln,  plus  one  kiln 
requiring  firing  once  in  sixty  minutes.  At  the  present  time, 
on  eight-hour  shifts,  the  minimum  for  a  man  is  two  and  one- 


108    THE  TWELVE-HOUR  SHIFT  IN  INDUSTRY 

half  kilus,  all  kilus  taking  the  same  classification.  The 
actual  quotas  run  from  two  and  one-half  to  five  kilns.  The 
management  believes  that  five  kilns  are  too  many  for  one 
tender.  The  tendency  of  the  men  is  to  fire  more  kilns  than 
they  should,  rather  than  fewer. 

Under  the  present  arrangement,  the  men  fire  once  every 
half  hour.  It  takes  about  five  minutes  for  each  kiln  (firing 
half  of  the  ten  tire  boxes),  or  fifteen  minutes  to  fire  a  quota 
of  three  kilns.  This  gives  a  man  about  fifteen  minutes  every 
half  hour  to  rest.  The  alternation  of  firing  and  resting  Is 
broken  only  when  fires  are  cleaned.  This  requires  about  two 
hours  on  each  shift.  The  management  would  not  favor  a 
doubling  up  at  the  time  of  cleaning  fires,  as  it  prefers  to 
have  each  man  clean  his  own  fires. 

The  men  who,  prior  to  1915  on  the  two-shift  system, 
earned  about  two  dollars  a  day,  were  in  October,  1921,  earn- 
five,  six,  or  even  eight  dollars  a  day.  According  to  the  man- 
agement there  is  no  question  but  that  the  men  prefer  the 
three-shift  system.  From  the  above  figures  it  appears  that 
the  wage  cost  per  hot  kiln  to  the  company  was  in  1921  no 
higher  than  it  had  been  under  the  old  system  prior  to  the 
War. 

The  management  finds  that  the  men  pay  better  attention 
to  their  work  and  but  little  difficulty  is  experienced  in  secur- 
ing the  desired  quality  of  product.  More  inspection  is  re- 
quired, however.  The  foremen,  w^ho  are  also  on  three  shifts, 
are  more  alert,  and  instruments  provide  means  of  quality 
control.  When  the  company  first  went  to  three  shifts  only 
the  kiln  firemen  were  changed,  leaving  the  foremen  on  two 
shifts,  but  the  foremen  asked  to  go  on  three  shifts.  At  that 
time  there  was  a  worker  known  as  ganger,  who  worked  only 
in  the  daytime.  The  foremen  suggested  that  his  job  be 
eliminated  and  that  they  take  care  of  his  work  themselves. 
This  was  done. 


LIME,  BRICK,   POTTERY  109 

It  should  be  observed  that  the  W —  Company  operates  with 
unusual  steadiness  through  the  year.  The  firemen  work  from 
three  hundred  and  twenty-five  to  three  hundred  and  thirty 
days  a  year.  Out  of  a  total  of  some  three  hundred  and  fifty 
employees,  some  thirty-nine  are  on  eight-hour  shifts.  These 
include  twenty-six  kiln  firemen,  three  foremen,  seven  boiler 
room  firemen  (three  on  one  shift  and  two  on  each  of  the 
others),  and  three  engineers.  The  watchmen  are  on  twelve- 
hour  shifts.  The  men  who  make  the  brick  have  a  maximum 
day  of  eight-and-a-half  hours,  but  they  get  through  in  less 
than  eight  hours. 

In  Indiana  are  several  brick  companies  working  eight- 
hour  shifts.  In  general  the  results  in  these  plants  are  similar 
to  those  in  the  plant  just  described.  That  is,  the  men  do 
as  much  in  eight  hours  as  they  formerly  did  in  twelve. 

Illinois — A  Paving  Brick  Plant, 

The  plant  of  the  Purington  Paving  Brick  Company  at 
Galesburg,  Illinois,  is  one  of  the  largest  paving  brick  plants 
in  the  world.  This  company  operates  its  plants  on  the  "open 
shop"  basis.  Its  experience  with  eight-hour  shifts  is  sum- 
marized in  a  letter  received  in  November,  1921,  from  the 
president  of  the  company. 

"Fifteen  or  twenty  years  ago  we  ran  our  paving  brick 
plant  ten  hours.  By  slightly  speeding  up  the  brick  machines 
we  found  we  could  make  all  we  could  take  care  of  in  nine 
hours.  About  eight  years  ago  we  decided  that  by  speeding 
up  our  machines  more,  we  could  manufacture  all  the  brick 
in  eight  hours  that  we  could  dry  and  burn.  We  therefore 
put  the  entire  plant  on  an  eight-hour  basis,  with  the  exception 
of  the  burners,  who  were  working  twelve  hours, — really  about 
eleven  hours  rather  than  twelve  as  they  left  about  one  hour 
before  their  time  was  up  and  depended  upon  the  next  shift  to 
carry  the  work  on. 


110    THE  TWELVE-HOUR  SHIFT  IN  INDUSTRY 

"After  running  our  plant  about  one  year  on  an  eight-hour 
basis,  we  had  a  great  deal  of  dissatisfaction  from  the  burners, 
who  were  complaining  that  they  had  to  work  twelve  hours, 
while  the  rest  of  the  plant  worked  eight  hours.  Again  we 
found  the  eight-hour  day  was  in  effect  all  over  the  country, 
and  we  decided  to  make  the  change  ourselves  before  it  was 
forced  on  us  by  our  burners.  We  have  worked  it  long  enough 
to  decide  that  it  is  much  better  to  work  them  eight  hours. 
While  the  cost  is  higher,  still  we  get  enough  better  burns  to 
pay  for  the  extra  cost.  During  the  hot  summer  months  it  is 
quite  difficult  to  keep  burners,  and  at  the  present  time  it 
would  be  almost  impossible  to  get  the  burners  to  work  eleven 
or  twelve  hours.  .  .  .  Our  records  will  show  that  we  are 
more  successful  in  running  the  plant  on  an  eight-hour  basis 
than  a  nine-  or  ten-hour  basis.  The  burner  foremen  still 
work  twelve  hours." 

There  are  also  three-shift  brick  plants  in  central  Illinois. 
One  of  these  is  on  nine-hour  shifts,  the  three  overlapping 
hours  coming  in  the  morning  when  there  is  extra  work  for 
the  men  to  do, 

A  Question  of  Technical  Progress. 

The  question  of  three-shift  operation  in  the  brick  industry 
is  intimately  related  to  the  technical  progress  of  the  industry. 
Until  recently  this  industry  has  been  most  conservative  in 
the  matter  of  technical  development.  Small  plants  have  been 
operated  on  traditional  lines  without  very  much  improvement 
in  technique  and  with  an  enormous  waste  of  fuel.  Recently 
advanced  designs  of  kilns  and  more  careful  records  and 
methods  have  been  introduced.  The  continuous  kiln,  made 
up  of  a  series  of  connected  chambers,  conserves  a  part  of  the 
heat  which  would  otherwise  be  wasted.  The  tunnel  kiln,  in 
which  the  burning  is  continuous,  has  the  possibility  of  making 


LIME,  BRICK,  POTTERY  111 

brick-making  as  well  as  brick-burning  a  continuous  operation. 
With  higher  technical  standards  the  industry  will  be  com- 
pelled to  secure  a  higher  grade  of  labor. 


POTTEEY,  TERRA  COTTA,  SPECIAL  CLAY  PRODUCTS 

Under  this  heading  will  be  considered  not  only  pottery 
but  the  various  clay  products,  more  expensive  than  brick  and 
tile,  whose  process  of  manufacture  and  burning  presents  sub- 
stantially the  same  problem  in  respect  to  labor  shifts.  The 
manufacture  of  china,  sanitary  ware,  architectural  terra 
cotta,  abrasive  wheels,  and  small  ceramic  products  is  similar 
in  that,  supplementary  to  an  elaborate  shaping  and  manufac- 
turing process  carried  on  by  day,  there  is  a  small  amount  of 
continuous  operation  in  burning.  The  proportion  of  em- 
ployees in  these  continuous  operations  is  usually  about  3  per 
cent.  But  it  varies  all  the  way  from  1  per  cent,  in  some 
plants  and  products  to  percentages  in  others  equal  to  the  11 
per  cent,  of  the  brick  industry. 

In  the  pottery  and  allied  industries  two-shift  operation 
has  been  the  rule.  This  is  the  practice  followed  by  the  pot- 
teries at  East  Liverpool,  Ohio,  the  leading  pottery  center  in 
the  United  States.  From  the  viewpoint  of  the  pottery  in- 
dustry the  matter  seems  of  little  importance.  In  the  summer 
the  potteries  use  gas  very  largely,  and  almost  no  one  is  on  duty 
at  night,  except  one  man,  who  is  a  sort  of  watchman  and  who 
controls  the  gas.  Likewise  few  men  are  required  when  oil 
is  the  fuel.  In  the  case  of  kilns  using  coal,  a  practice  which 
is  much  extended  during  the  winter,  the  number  of  kiln 
firemen  is  larger. 

In  East  Liverpool  potteries  the  engineers  usually  work 
daytime  only,  the  hours  being  ten  or  eleven,  and  in  a  few 
cases  twelve.  However,  in  the  case  of  a  plant  where  the 
twelve-hour  employees  were  actually  counted  there  were  em- 


112    THE  TWELVE-HOUR  SHIFT  IN  INDUSTRY 

ployed  on  twelve  hours  eight  firemen  (and  in  winter  eight 
coal  passers),  four  watchmen  and  eight  engineers,  making 
a  total  of  twenty  twelve-hour  men  in  sunnner  and  twenty-eight 
in  winter  out  of  a  total  of  seven  hundred  or  eight  hundred 
employees — that  is,  between  2  and  4  per  cent. 

Labor  has  been  less  interested  in  three  shifts  in  the 
pottery  industry  than  in  others.  The  pottery  industry  is 
one  of  the  most  thoroughly  organized  in  the  country.  All 
wage-rates  and  working  conditions  are  established  by  col- 
lective bargaining,  the  agreements  including  the  burners. 
Apparently  the  rules  do  not  prescribe  twelve-hour  work,  but 
they  imply  it  in  the  nine-hour  clause:  "Nine  hours  shall 
constitute  a  day  for  all  day  wage-workers  excepting  engineers, 
engineers'  helpers,  kiln  firemen,  watchmen,  cddmen  and 
such  others  as  must  from  necessity  work  longer  hours." 
According  to  the  employers  no  complaints  are  made  by  the 
men  or  the  unions  regarding  the  twelve-hour  work. 

Some  managements  in  the  pottery  industry  are  consider- 
ing the  question  of  two-  and  three-shift  operation.  The  gen- 
eral manager  of  a  large  New  Jersey  company  manufacturing 
sanitary  ware  writes: 

"In  this  plant  it  has  been  our  custom  up  to  this  year  to 
employ  twelve-hour  shifts.  At  the  present  time,  however, 
we  are  employing  eight-hour  shifts  on  the  kilns  due  to  re- 
duced operations.  It  is  my  personal  opinion  that  twelve- 
hour  shifts  ought  not  to  be  employed  where  they  can  be 
avoided,  although  eight-hour  shifts  are  possibly  not  quite 
so  satisfactory  as  the  twelve-hour  shift  so  far  as  operating 
conditions  are  concerned.  Our  greatest  difficulty,  however, 
has  been  that  the  men  are  dissatisfied  when  allowed  to  work 
only  eight  hours.  This  is  a  situation  with  which  we  have 
considerable  difficulty  in  meeting.  From  the  standpoint  of 
operations  I  believe  that  a  twelve-hour  shift  is  better  than 
the  eight-hour  shift  as  applied  to  kiln  firemen,  but  from  the 


LIME,   BRICK,   POTTERY  113 

human  standpoint  I  do  not  believe  that  any  man  should  work 
twelve  hours  out  of  twenty-four." 

Most  terra  cotta  companies  are  on  two  shifts  for  the  burn- 
ing operation.  But  the  Northwestern  Terra  Cotta  Company 
of  Chicago  is  on  three  shifts.  This  applies  to  the  kiln  fire- 
men, boiler  firemen,  and  engineers  who  together  number 
about  ten  or  twelve  out  of  a  total  of  three  hundred  and 
seventy-two  or  about  3  per  cent.  The  change  to  three  shifts 
was  made  about  three  years  ago.  According  to  the  super- 
intendent, the  company  gets  higher  efficiency.  The  quality 
of  the  burning  of  terra  cotta  depends  a  good  deal  on  the 
attention  given.  The  eight-hour  shift  avoids  the  necessity 
for  an  eighteen-hour  turn  when  shifts  rotate.  This  company 
has  not  found  it  a  disadvantage  to  have  three  men  employed 
on  the  burning.  The  management  find  that  proper  super- 
vision can  overcome  any  difficulty. 


CHAPTER  IX 
CHEMIC2VL    INDUSTRIES 

Peculiarities  aiid  Difficulties. 

It  is  difficult  to  classify  the  chemical  industries  and  those 
other  industries  which,  though  not  ordinarily  regarded  as 
chemical,  are  based  on  chemical  processes.  Under  the  head 
of  "heavy  chemicals"  are  grouped  acids,  soda,  or  other  chem- 
ical products,  produced  usually  on  a  large  scale  and  manu- 
factured not  so  much  for  themselves  as  because  they  are 
employed  as  chemical  reagents  in  other  industries.  Falling 
v^^ithin  the  class  of  "chemical  industries"  are  various  manu- 
factures whose  processes  are  chemical  but  whose  products 
are  usually  more  or  less  finished  articles  of  commerce.  The 
term  chemical  industry  also  applies,  in  some  sense,  to  the 
large  industries  considered  in  Chapter  X. 

The  chemical  industries  in  general  form  the  group  in 
which  it  is  most  difficult  to  change  to  three-shift  operation 
with  noticeable  increase  in  efficiency.  Where  the  processes 
consist  in  distillations,  in  the  movement  of  fluids  through 
pipes,  in  reactions  which  take  place  in  retorts;  when  the 
work  is  turning  valves,  waiting  for  vats  to  fill,  or  watching 
gauges,  it  is  neither  easy  to  hasten  processes,  nor  safe  to 
reduce  the  number  of  men.  Losses  due  to  overflows,  uneven 
feeds,  carelessly  regulated  temperatures,  and  mistakes  and 
accidents  due  to  inefficient  labor  may  cause  large  losses  in  a 
chemical  plant.  But  it  is  harder  to  measure  gains  in  efficiency 
due  to  their  elimination  and  not  easy  to  guarantee  that  they 
will  not  occur  again.     This  situation  may  account  for  the 

114 


CHEMICAL  INDUSTRIES  115 

statement  which  is  often  made  that  the  eight-hour  shift  has 
brought  no  reduction  in  manning  or  increase  in  efficiency  in 
the  chemical  industry.  The  statement  applies  particularly 
to  plants  which  changed  to  three  shifts  during  the  War. 

On  the  other  hand,  there  have  been  some  well  substan- 
tiated and  interesting  illustrations  of  successful  methods  of 
changing  to  three  shifts,  both  in  the  applied  chemical  in- 
dustries and  in  the  making  of  chemicals  themselves. 

HEAVY  CHEMICALS 

In  the  production  of  heavy  chemicals  there  is  a  small 
amount  of  two-shift  operation.  In  parts  of  the  South,  for 
instance  at  Birmingham,  chemical  companies  both  in  the 
heavy  or  more  general  lines  and  in  specialized  lines  are  on 
twelve-hour  shifts.  In  the  North,  and  through  the  country 
generally  are  small  plants  which  operate  on  two  shifts.  This 
last  statement  applies  also  to  large  companies  which  have 
chains  of  small  plants.  These  companies  often  have  no  gen- 
eral labor  policy  but  allow  their  local  managers  to  follow 
local  customs,  which  means  in  some  instances  two-shift 
operation.  Even  in  the  case  of  large  plants  located  in  the 
North,  there  are  some  which  have  certain  individuals  among 
their  employees  on  twelve-hour  shifts,  but  these  companies, 
as  well  as  many  of  the  companies  having  chains  of  plants, 
are  often  in  other  than  the  purely  "heavy  chemical"  lines. 
Notwithstanding  the  exceptions  noted,  the  generalization 
may  be  made  that  the  large  producers  of  "heavy  chemicals" 
are  on  three-shift  operation.  In  the  districts  where  the  heavy 
chemical  industry  is  concentrated  the  change  from  a  general 
practice  of  two-shift  operation  started  some  twenty  or  more 
years  ago,  began  to  proceed  more  rapidly  some  ten  years  ago, 
and  during  the  last  five  or  six  years  has  taken  place  with  such 
rapidity  and  completeness  that  today  three-shift  operation  is 


116    THE  TWELVE-HOUR  SHIFT  IN  INDUSTRY 

decidedly  the  predominating  system.  But  widespread  thongh 
the  change  has  been,  it  is  difficult  to  determine  what  has  been 
the  effect  on  efficiency  and  cost  of  the  introduction  of  the 
three-shift  system.  In  the  case  of  a  number  of  the  more 
important  companies,  the  evidence  is  not  clear  as  the  change 
was  made  many  years  ago.  What  these  companies  have  been 
most  concerned  with  in  recent  years  have  been  changes,  not 
from  twelve  to  eight  hours,  but  from  nine  to  eight  hours,  or 
from  a  seven-day  to  a  six-day  week.  In  the  case  of  other 
companies  the  results  have  been  influenced  by  the  fact  that 
the  adjustment  was  made  under  war  conditions.  But  even 
where  these  factors  have  not  been  prominent  the  conclusions 
with  regard  to  heavy  chemical  plants  have  usually  been  more 
a  matter  of  opinion  and  report  than  of  measured  fact. 

In  most  cases  the  managers  of  heavy  chemical  plants  ex- 
press doubt  as  to  any  marked  improvement  in  efficiency  under 
three-shift  operation.  ]\Iost  of  the  managers  have  held  that 
three  shifts  could  bring  no  increase  in  output.  At  the  Bame 
time  there  is  a  considerable  body  of  opinion  to  the  effect  that 
fewer  accidents  in  proccesses,  less  loss  and  inferior  work, 
ought  to  prevail  where  the  men  are  on  an  eight-hour  instead 
of  a  twelve-hour  shift. 

This  prevalent  uncertainty  regarding  the  effects  on  pro- 
duction of  three  shifts  does  not  mean,  however,  that  the 
makers  of  heavy  chemicals  feel  regret  at  having  gone  to  three 
shifts  or  are  contemplating  returning  to  the  older  system. 
With  a  few  exceptions  the  companies  seem  to  be  content  with 
the  three-shift  system.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  the  labor  cost 
of  an  extra  shift  is  not  large  in  a  chemical  plant.  The  pro- 
portion of  shift-workers  in  the  chemical  industry  is  loss  than 
in  many  of  the  other  continuous-industries.  In  most  cases 
the  proportion  of  shift  men  would  not  be  more  than  about 
20  per  cent,  of  the  total.  From  that  number  it  would  vary 
downward  to  a  minimum  as  low  as  4  per  cent. 


CHEMICAL  INDUSTRIES  117 

Experience  of  a  Tennessee  Compam/y. 

The  most  definite  information  obtained  for  any  of  the 
heavy  chemical  plants  was  that  furnished  by  the  Tennessee 
Copper  Company,  which  put  its  sulphuric  acid  plant  on 
three  shifts  in  February,  1919.  In  this  case,  where  figures 
as  well  as  opinions  are  given,  the  showing  of  three-shift 
operation  is  much  better  than  the  statements  commonly  made 
by  managers  of  chemical  plants  indicate.  According  to  the 
management  of  this  company,  the  number  of  men  required 
to  man  a  sulphuric  acid  plant  is  not  unalterable,  nor  is  the 
output  of  acid  something  that  is  absolutely  fixed,  independ- 
ent of  the  character  of  operation.  In  a  preceding  section  it 
was  noted  how  this  company  was  able  by  building  a  bridge 
between  two  acid  towers  to  have  one  man  do  work  which 
had  previously  required  two.  It  was  in  part  because  of 
numerous  savings  in  manning  of  this  sort,  and  also  because 
of  better  control  in  acid  production,  leading  to  larger  output, 
that  the  pre-war,  two-shift  system  standard  of  production, 
which  in  1913  was  .372  tons  of  acid  per  man  per  day,  had  by 
1921,  under  the  three-shift  system,  risen  to  .878  tons  per  man 
per  day.  The  figures  quoted  include  employees  in  mining  and 
smelting  (for  all  of  whom  hours  had  been  shortened)  as  well 
as  those  in  the  acid  plant ;  but  the  improvement  in  the  acid 
seems  to  have  been  greater  than  the  improvement  elsewhere. 
It  should  be  noted  that  during  this  eight-year  period,  there 
had  been  a  number  of  improvements  in  the  plant  and  process. 
That  the  striking  gains  shovsm  were  in  part  due  to  labor  is 
borne  out  by  the  fact  that  in  the  brief  interval  which  elapsed 
between  the  spring  of  1921  (April,  May  and  June)  and  De- 
cember of  the  same  year,  the  operating  cost  of  acid  making 
was  reduced  43  per  cent.,  wage-rate^  meanwhile  remaining 
unchanged.  This  reduction  in  cost  occurred  two  years  after 
the  first  introduction  of  three  shifts.     It  was  accompanied 


118    THE  TWELVE-HOUR  SHIFT  IN  INDUSTRY 

and  furthered  by  efforts  along  lines  other  than  the  reduction 
in  hours  to  improve  labor  relations  and  efficiency.  But  the 
management  regarded  the  improvement  as  in  the  main  merely 
a  deferred  gain  which  had  been  made  possible  by  the  shorten- 
ing of  hours.  The  superintendent  of  the  acid  plant,  a  man  of 
extended  experience  in  acid  making  under  the  three-shift 
system  in  this  company  and  the  two-shift  system  elsewhere, 
was  positive  in  attributing  this  last  increase  in  efficiency 
and  output  to  the  eight-hour  as  contrasted  with  the  twelve- 
hour  day.     • 

The  experience  of  the  Tennessee  Copper  Company  makes 
clear  that  the  manning  and  output  of  a  chemical  plant  are 
far  from  being  fixed  quantities  even  where  the  equipment  is 
unchanged. 

At  one  time  some  of  the  chemical  companies  operated 
three  nine-hour  shifts.  One  large  company,  which  arranged 
its  shifts  so  that  two  sets  of  men  were  on  duty  between  1  p.  m. 
and  4  p.  m._,  found  this  plan  satisfactory.  But  this  company 
and  the  other  chemical  companies  have  since  changed  to  three 
eight-hour  shifts. 

In  some  of  the  heavy  chemical  plants,  day-workers  as  well 
as  shift-workers  are  on  eight  hours;  in  others  the  day-work- 
ers are  on  nine  hours. 


FEETILIZEES 

There  are  several  hundred  general  service  fertilizer  plants 
in  the  United  States,  widely  distributed  throughout  the 
country.  The  bulk  of  the  work  in  such  a  plant  consists  in 
mixing  ingredients,  getting  fertilizer  ready  for  shipment, 
and  doing  similar  unskilled  jobs  on  a  day-work  basis.  The 
sulphuric  acid  department  is  the  only  one  that  has  shift 
labor  and  the  number  of  employees  in  that  department  is 


CHEMICAL  INDUSTRIES  119 

very  small  in  any  one  establishment.  A  fertilizer  plant  may 
have  from  one  hundred  to  two  hundred  employees — some- 
times more  during  the  busy  season — engaged  on  day-work. 
The  largest  plant  would  not  have  more  than  eight  or  nine 
shift  men,  and  a  more  common  number  would  be  five  or  six. 
For  this  number  of  men  continuous  work  is  unavoidable. 

The  acid  plant  employees  in  fertilizer  works  are  univer- 
sally on  twelve-hour  shifts,  or  shifts  averaging  twelve  hours. 
During  the  War,  there  were  a  few  odd  instances  of  plants 
changing  to  three  shifts,  but  the  owners  of  these  plants  say 
that  they  have  since  put  the  men  back  on  two  shifts.  While 
it  is  impossible  to  be  sure  that  there  is  no  acid  plant  now 
using  the  three-shift  system,  inquiry  has  failed  to  disclose 
any. 

The  problem  of  going  from  two  to  three  shifts  in  a  fer- 
tilizer works  acid  plant  differs  in  two  important  respects  from 
the  same  problem  as  applied  to  a  large  acid  plant. 

1.  The  smallness  of  the  fertilizer  plant  unit  makes  more 

difficult  the  working  out  of  reductions  in  manning. 
If  a  plant  has  only  two  men  by  night  and  two  by 
day,  it  is  hard  to  cut  out  one  or  more  of  this  force. 
The  problem  is  also  difficult  for  a  plant  employing 
five  or  six  men. 

2.  The  acid  made  in  a  fertilizer  works  does  not  need  to  be 

chemically  pure.  The  important  thing  is  quantity 
and  cheapness.  So  the  question  of  quaJity  of 
product  hardly  enters  in  as  an  important  reason  for 
striving,  through  shortening  hours,  for  a  good,  wide- 
awake type  of  labor.  The  fertilizer  companies 
claim,  moreover,  that  while  their  day-workers  are 
often  unskilled  and  shiftless,  their  acid  plant  em- 
ployees arc  drawn  from  a  steady,  settled  class  of 
labor. 


120    THE  TWELVE-HOUR  SHIFT  IN  INDUSTRY 

That  fertilizer  acid  plants  could  with  profit  be  put  on 
three  shifts  is,  however,  the  opinion  of  Mr.  G.  E.  Beavers, 
the  acid  plant  superintendent  of  the  Tennessee  Copper  Com- 
pany. He  bases  his  view  both  on  experience  with  three-shift 
operation  with  his  present  company  and  on  his  earlier  experi- 
ence with  two-shift  operation  with  a  southern  fertilizer  con- 
cern. 

In  the  fertilizer  acid  plant  of  which  Mr.  Beavers  was 
formerly  superintendent  there  were  altogether  10  employees, 
of  which  8  were  on  shift-work.  Each  of  the  two  shifts  had 
1  chamber  man,  1  pump  man,  1  nitro  man  and  1  furnace 
man.  The  two  men  who  were  attached  only  to  the  day  shift 
were  known  as  acid  maker  and  flunkeyman.  If  this  plant 
had  been  put  on  eight-hour  in  place  of  twelve-hour  shifts, 
Mr.  Beavers  said  that  the  positions  of  chamber  man  and 
pumpman  could  have  been  combined,  and  also  those  of  nitro 
man  and  furnace  man.  That  would  have  reduced  the  number 
of  shift  employees  from  8  on  two  shifts  to  6  on  three  shifts 
and  the  total  of  all  employees  from  10  to  8.  Similar  adjust- 
ments would  be  possible,  he  says,  in  the  case  of  the  smaller 
plants  which  now  employ  only  5  or  6  employees. 

In  Mr.  Beavers'  opinion  not  only  reductions  in  manning, 
but  other  important  savings  could  be  effected  by  changing  to 
three  shifts.  He  regards  it  as  a  mistake  to  assume  that 
because  only  low-grade  and  impure  acid  is  required  for  a 
fertilizer  plant,  it  is  not  important  to  maintain  good  chem- 
ical control  in  the  manufacture.  For  example,  sulphur 
should  be  charged  regularly,  but  in  the  two-shift  plant  where 
Mr.  Beavers  was  superintendent,  towards  five  or  six  o'clock 
in  the  morning  the  men  would  go  to  sleep,  forget  to  charge, 
and  the  production  of  acid  would  go  down.  Or  the  charging 
of  sodium  nitrate  may  be  neglected,  on  the  one  hand,  or  be 
excessive,  on  the  other,  and  thus  become  another  source  of 
waste. 


CHEMICAL  INDUSTRIES  121 

Mr.  Beavers  says  that  the  younger  men  who  are  now 
entering  the  fertilizer  field  recognize  the  importance  of  at- 
tention to  these  details,  and  that  with  more  care  they  wiU 
be  able  to  make  the  plants  pay  better.  But  it  is  hard  to 
bring  the  employees  to  time  on  these  matters  when  they  are 
working  twelve  hours. 

In  the  Fall  of  1918  Mr.  Beavers  endeavored  to  put  the 
fertilizer  acid  plant  of  which  he  was  then  superintendent  on 
three  shifts ;  but  the  men  could  not  at  that  time  be  induced 
to  take  it  up.  A  few  months  later  the  three-shift  sysem  was, 
however,  introduced  with  great  success  in  the  acid  plant  of 
which  he  has  since  become  superintendent.  While  the  latter 
plant  is  vastly  larger,  Mr.  Beavers  holds  that  the  problem, 
and  the  methods  to  be  pursued,  are  essentially  similar. 

EXPLOSIVES 

Explosives  are  made  in  many  small  plants  to  reduce  the 
hazard  of  manufacture,  the  employees  numbering  in  a  few 
instances  no  more  than  ten  persons.  Taking  all  the  plants 
together  the  manufacture  of  explosives  requires  very  few 
shift  employees.  Because  of  the  scattered  character  of  this 
industry  the  various  plants  follow  local  practices.  There 
may  be  a  few  small  plants  here  and  there  which  are  on  two 
shifts,  but  the  management  of  the  leading  manufacturer  of 
explosives  reports  that  all  their  large  plants  have  their  con- 
tinuous-work on  three  shifts. 


DYES 

The  manufacture  of  dyes,  generally  carried  on  in  large, 
costly  plants,  is  notable  for  the  large  number  of  its  products, 
involving  processes  of  many  types.  While  few  of  the  proc- 
esses are  necessarily  continuous,  and  the  main  processes  may 


122    THE  TWELVE-HOUR  SHIFT  IN  INDUSTRY 

be  shut  down  at  night,  it  is  the  general  custom  to  run  more 
or  less  continuously. 

One  of  the  leading  dye  companies  reports  that  when  any 
of  its  plants  operate  at  night  the  supervisors  are  usually  on 
two  shifts:  a  day  man  and  a  night  man,  though  sometimes 
there  might  he  two  night  men  on  three  shifts.  Ordinarily  a 
night  supervisor  has  little  work  to  do.  If  anything  goes  wrong 
he  shuts  off  the  process,  or  calls  someone  from  the  central 
mechanical  force  to  make  the  necessary  repairs.  He  may 
not  even  be  on  hand  all  night.  The  power  j^lants  of  this 
company  are  on  three  shifts.  Maintenance  men  are  for  the 
most  part  on  eight-hour  shifts.  In  general  the  two-shift  work 
is  in  places  where  the  men  do  not  have  to  be  in  the  plant 
the  full  twelve  hours,  or  where  the  process  does  not  nm  alto- 
getlier  continuously,  as,  for  instance,  only  for  sixteen  hours. 

Aside  from  the  groups  named  there  are  some  other  men 
about  the  plant  who  are  on  full  twelve-hour  shifts,  but  they 
are  few  in  number.  The  company  has  no  definite  policy  re- 
garding twelve-hour  work,  but  on  the  whole  it  is  tending  away 
from  rather  than  towards  twelve  hours. 

In  another  dye  plant  the  continuous-operation  work,  at 
the  time  of  the  inquiry,  was  on  eleven-hour  and  thirteen-hour 
shifts,  but  the  proportion  of  such  work  was  small.  The  plant 
was  running  slack  and  there  were  not  more  than  a  score  of 
men  on  the  two-shift  schedule. 


INDUSTRIAL  ALCOHOL 

The  chief  plants  of  the  company  which  manufactures 
most  of  the  industrial  alcohol  are  on  three  shifts.  One  small 
plant  is  on  two  shifts.  While  some  of  the  products  of  this 
company  are  manufactured  in  batches,  the  alcohol  itself  is 
produced  by  continuous  process.  Possibly  twenty-five  per 
cent,  of  the  employees  are  shift-workers. 


CHEMICAL  INDUSTRIES  123 


WOOD  DISTILLATION 


"No  field  study  was  attempted  in  the  case  of  wood  distilla- 
tion. Tlie  industry  is  carried  on  in  numerous  plants,  small 
and  difficult  to  reach,  employing  altogether  about  33,000 
persons. 

The  Census  of  Manufactures  distinguishes  between  "tur- 
pentine and  resin"  on  the  one  hand  which  consists  in  the 
extraction  and  later  the  distillation  of  gum  from  live  trees, 
and  which  employed  in  1919  about  28,000  workers,  and 
"wood  distillation,  not  including  turpentine  and  resin" 
(which  employed  about  5,000  workers).  It  is  explained 
in  the  census  reports,  however,  that  the  latter  classification 
really  includes  all  destructive  distillation  of  wood,  whether 
the  product  be  wood  alcohol,  as  in  the  hardwood  distillation 
of  the  North,  or  turpentine  and  resin,  as  in  the  distillation  ©f 
pine  in  the  South. 

A  manufacturer,  familiar  with  the  production  of  turpen- 
tine and  resin  from  gimi,  states  that  there  is  no  systematic 
operation  of  labor  shifts.  Though  conducted  on  a  large  scale, 
the  industry  is  carried  on  much  as  the  farmers  boil  maple 
syrup  in  the  North,  without  special  reference  to  the  working 
hours,  or  any  other  conventions  of  importance.  Almost  half 
of  the  industry  is  in  Florida,  and  a  fourth  in  Georgia. 

The  census  figures  show,  however,  that  there  is  a  con- 
siderable proportion  of  twelve-hour  work  in  the  smaller  in- 
diistry  which  may  properly  be  spoken  of  as  "wood  distilla- 
tion." Something  like  four-fifths  of  this  industry  consists 
of  the  distillation  of  hard  woods,  and  is  carried  on  mainly 
in  the  states  of  Pennsylvania,  New  York  and  ]\richigan.  The 
twelve-hour  shift  evidently  exists  to  some  extent  in  the  North, 
though  it  is  impossible  to  tell  from  the  statistics  how  common 
the  practice  may  be.  Of  wood  distillation  in  the  South,  the 
authority  cited  above  says : 


124    THE  TWELVE-HOUR  SHIFT  IN  INDUSTRY 

"In  the  wood  turpentine  industry,  on  the  other  hand, 
while  the  processes,  machinery  and  products  differ  very 
widely  in  the  different  plants,  nearly  all  are  operated  on  a 
twenty-four-hour  basis,  though  with  heavier  shifts  in  the  day- 
time. Some  plants  run  on  two  twelve-hour  shifts.  We  do 
not  think  there  are  more  than  two  or  three  that  employ  eight- 
hour  shifts  and  in  others  the  shifts  are  arranged  arbitrarily 
to  favor  the  process,  usually  with  some  provision  to  change 
about,  so  that  the  men  can  work  on  day  shifts  one  week  and 
take  a  night  shift  the  next — turn  about." 

With  three  or  four  exceptions,  the  wood  distillation  plants 
in  the  South  do  not  run  steadily,  but  are  carried  on  in  a 
desultory  manner,  subject  to  extreme  variation  in  activity. 

EEFINED  CORN  PRODUCTS 

No  extended  study  has  been  attempted  of  the  manufacture 
of  starch,  glucose  and  syrups,  in  what  might  be  called  the 
chemical  end  of  the  food  industries.  A  company  which  holds 
a  leading  position  in  the  refining  of  corn  products  operates 
its  plants  on  the  three-shift  system.  Following  the  close  of 
the  War,  the  company  planned  to  lengthen  the  hours  of  its 
day-workers  from  eight  to  nine  or  ten,  but  to  keep  the  em- 
ployees on  three  eight-hour  shifts  in  the  case  of  continuous 
operations. 

SOAP 

Soap  manufacture  is  a  daytime  affair  in  the  majority  of 
plants  except  for  a  few  men  engaged  in  auxiliary  processes 
who  are  often  on  twelve-hour  shifts.  Except  in  an  emer- 
gency, indeed,  the  general  sentiment  among  soap-makers  is 
against  continuous-operation  of  their  plants.  Ordinarily  soap 
vats  are  boiled  by  day  and  allowed  to  settle  by  night.  A 
Camden,  New  Jersey,  plant  manager  believes  in  using  two 


CHEMICAL  INDUSTRIES  125 

twelve-hour  shifts  for  certain  of  the  finishing  operations, 
when  the  market  permits  the  plant  to  run  to  sufficient 
capacity.  But  it  is  several  years  since  the  plant  was  run  on 
that  basis  and  then  only  for  a  short  time.  Another  soap  com- 
pany of  national  reputation  runs  two  shifts  when  business 
demands  it. 

Here  and  there  a  soap  company  runs  a  considerable  por- 
tion of  its  plant  continuously,  either  because  it  undertakes 
more  preliminary  treatment  of  raw  materials  than  is  common 
or  because  it  manufactures  products  other  than  soap  for 
which  continuous  operation  is  advisable.  Because  of  the  gen- 
erally greater  equipment  which  such  a  plant  has,  it  tends 
even  in  those  processes  which  are  common  to  other  soap 
companies  towards  continuous-operation. 

Experience  of  the  Procter  &  Gamble  Company. 

The  conditions  which  have  just  been  enumerated  apply 
with  special  force  to  the  Procter  &  Gamble  Company  which 
has  about  25  per  cent,  of  the  employees  in  its  Ivory  dale  plant 
on  continuous-operation  work. 

Prior  to  March,  1919,  these  continuous-operation  em- 
ployees were  on  twelve-hour  shifts,  or  eleven  hours  by  day 
and  thirteen  hours  by  night.  At  that  time  the  company  sub- 
stituted three  eight-hour  shifts,  at  the  same  time  making  an 
effort  for  greater  efficiency.  The  aim  of  the  superintendent 
and  foremen  was  to  obtain  as  much  work  in  eight  hours  as 
had  previously  been  done  in  ten.  While  it  was  impossible 
for  the  management  to  determine  the  per  cent,  of  increased 
efficiency  it  is  certain  that  the  gain  in  efficiency  was  con- 
siderable, but  that  it  must  be  credited  in  part  to  the  increased 
effort. 

In  the  spring  of  1921,  the  company  placed  its  day-work- 
ers on  a  nine-hour  instead  of  an  eight-hour  day,  giving  them 
eight  hours'  pay  for  nine  hours'  work  in  lieu  of  a  wage  re- 


126    THE  TWELVE-HOUR  SHIFT  IN  INDUSTRY 

duction.  To  put  the  shift  men  on  a  parity  with  the  day 
men,  the  company  decided  to  modify  the  three-shift  system. 
The  compromise  adopted — in  a  sense  a  two-and-a-half  shift 
system — is  called  a  five-shift  system. 

Under  the  five-shift  system  all  of  the  shift-workers  are 
given  daily  turns  of  nine  or  ten  hours  (or  according  to  a 
later  modification,  eight-and-one-half,  ten,  or  ten-and-one-half 
hours).  The  number  of  shift-workers  is  constant  throughout 
the  twenty-four  hours,  and  each  man  reports  for  duty  on  the 
same  hour  each  day  in  the  week.^  The  manner  in  which  this 
result  was  accomplished  may  be  seen  by  an  examination  of 
Table  6  (earlier  plan)  or  Table  7  (later  plan). 

The  conspicuous  feature  of  both  plans  is  the  introduction 
of  two  interweaving  series  of  shift-workers.  At  any  one 
moment  there  are  always  two  shifts  on  duty,  as  A  and  B, 
the  one,  however,  always  being  relieved  before  the  other. 
When  a  shift-worker  reports  for  duty  the  second  day  it  is 
not,  strictly  speaking,  to  his  former  position.  The  second 
day  he  relieves,  not  those  who  have  relieved  him,  but  those 
who  have  relieved  his  neighbor.  Thus  under  the  earlier  plan 
Group  A,  working  from  12  midnight  to  10  a.  m.  Monday  was 
relieved  by  Group  D,  working  from  10  a.  m.  to  8  p.  m.  and 
then  by  Group  B  which  worked  from  8  p.  m.  Monday  to  6 
A.  M.  Tuesday,  Group  A,  coming  on  again  Tuesday  could 
not  relieve  Group  B,  for  the  hours  would  not  come  out  even. 
Group  E,  which  Group  A  relieved,  in  turn  had  relieved 
Group  C,  which  in  turn  had  relieved  Group  B  being  the 
group  which  throughout  most  of  Monday  worked  alongside 
of  Group  A. 

The  Ivorydale  plant  is  practically  closed  do^vn  on  Sunday 
(under  the  later  plan,  from  7  a.  m.  Sunday  to  7  a.  m.  Mon- 
day).    This  means  that,  under  the  earlier  plan,  the  working 

*  Under  the  original  plan,  there  wa8  sometimes  a  slight  exception  to 
this  at  the  beginning  or  end  of  the  week. 


CHEMICAL  INDUSTRIES 


127 


128    THE  TWELVE-HOUR  SHIFT  IN  INDUSTRY 

weeks  of  Groups  A  and  D  which  were  scheduled  for  ten  hours 
a  day — excepting  twelve-hour  shifts  on  Saturday — was  sixty- 
two  hours  a  week.  Group  B,  which  also  worked  ten  hours, 
but  was  scheduled  for  only  a  short  turn  Sunday  night,  worked 
fifty-six  hours.  Groups  C  and  E  which  were  the  nine-hour 
groups,  worked  fifty-four  hours.  In  actual  practice,  how- 
ever, groujDs  A  and  D  were  commonly  relieved  two  hours 
earlier  than  the  schedule  shows  on  Saturday,  giving  them 
in  fact,  a  sixty-hour  week.  Group  B,  on  the  other  hand, 
would  most  likely  come  early  Sunday  night,  probably  at  8 
p.  M.  to  do  odd  work  about  the  plant,  which  would  give  this 
group  also  an  even  sixty-hour  week.  The  shifts  ordinarily 
rotated  once  a  week.  So  under  ordinary  circumstances,  a 
man  would  work  sixty  hours  three  weeks  out  of  five,  and 
fifty-four  hours  the  other  two  weeks. 

Since  the  investigator's  visit  to  the  plant,  the  plan  illus- 
trated by  Table  6  has  been  displaced  by  the  plan  illustrated  by 
Table  7.  The  latter  plan  eliminates  twelve-hour  shifts  on 
Saturday,  besides  changing  the  period  of  shut  down  from 
the  earlier  arrangement  of  Saturday  midnight  to  Sunday 
midnight,  to  the  present  arrangement  of  7  a.  m.-  Sunday  to 
7  A.  M.  Monday.  The  shifts  are  now  eight-and-one-half  hours 
for  two  groups,  ten  hours  for  one  group,  and  ten-and-one-half 
hours  for  two  groups,  the  ten-hour  group  getting  ofF  three 
hours  early  on  Sunday.  This  makes  the  working  week  fifty- 
one  hours  for  two  groups,  fifty-seven  hours  for  one  group  and 
sixty-three  hours  for  two  groups,  or  an  average  of  fifty-seven 
hours.  Under  the  present  plan,  the  men  rotate  shifts  every 
two  weeks. 

The  five-shift  system  as  thus  outlined  has  two  important 
characteristics  other  than  its  even  succession  of  nine-  and 
ten-hour  (or  eight-and-one-half,  ten,  and  ten-and-one-half 
hour)  shifts. 


CHEMICAL  INDUSTRIES  129 

1.  Never  more  than  half  of  the  men  are  relieved  at  any 

one  time,  obtaining  thereby  a  greater  continuity  in 
the  work. 

2.  A  man  does  not  continue  today  the  work  which  he 

did  yesterday,  but  takes  up  what  his  neighbor  on  the 
parallel  shift  had  been  doing.  This  often  makes  it 
necessary  to  teach  men  to  serve  in  two  positions. 
It  will  be  observed  that  no  shift  begins  or  ends 
work  between  12  midnight  and  6  a.m.  (Under  the 
present  plan,  no  shift  begins  earlier  than  7  a.m.) 

At  the  end  of  the  first  six  months  of  operation  under  the 
five-shift  system,  the  company  expressed  satisfaction  with  the 
plan.  The  production  per  hour  was  as  much  as  under  the 
three-shift  system.  The  results  were  decidedly  better  than 
under  the  two  twelve-hour  shift  system.  The  five-shift  ar- 
rangement meant  somewhat  more  effort  on  the  part  of  the 
management  because  of  having  to  teach  workmen  two  dif- 
ferent jobs. 

The  company  believes  that  the  men  are  better  satisfied 
under  the  five-  than  under  the  two-shift  system.  As  between 
the  five-shift  and  three-shift  systems,  the  adoption  of  the 
five-shift  system  was  approved  by  vote  of  the  men.  However, 
the  company  previously  made  it  clear  that  the  plant  would 
change  to  a  nine-hour  basis,  and  the  vote  was  on  the  details 
of  the  plan  rather  than  on  the  general  policy  involved. 

GLUE 

No  survey  has  been  made  of  the  glue  industry.  But  a 
Chicago  glue  company,  a  subsidiary  of  one  of  the  packers, 
was  found  to  have  10  per  cent,  of  its  men  on  continuous 
processes,  and  these  were  on  three  shifts.  They  had  been 
changed  from  two  shifts. 


130    THE  TWELVE-HOUR  SHIFT  IN  INDUSTRY 

DBUGS,  PEKFUMES,  FINE  CHEMICALS 

The  manufacture  of  drugs  and  fine  chemicals  in  St.  Louis 
and  Detroit  is  on  three  eight-hour  shifts. 

The  president  of  a  St.  Louis  chemical  company  states 
that  his  concern  has  about  1,000  employees,  of  whom  one- 
fifth  or  less  are  on  shifts.  "WTien  the  number  of  its  employees 
was  small,  this  company  ran  on  two  twelve-hour  shifts,  but 
the  twelve-hour  shift  was  done  away  with  long  ago.  Even 
the  watchmen  are  now  on  three  eight-hour  shifts.  Day-work- 
ers are  on  nine  hours. 

The  New  Jersey  plant  of  a  French  manufacturer  of  per- 
fumes has  its  continuous  work  on  three  shifts. 


ELECTEO-CHEMICAL  INDUSTEIES 

Investigations  show  that  most  of  the  plants  at  Niagara 
Falls  which  use  electricity  for  chemical  purposes  are  on  three 
shifts. 

The  Carborundum  Company  has  always  had  all  of  its 
continuous-operations  on  three  shifts. 

Another  company  whose  men  are  on  hot  and  heavy  con- 
tinuous furnace  operation  has  been  on  three  shifts  for  more 
than  twenty  years.  The  management  believes  that  this 
schedule  is  the  most  satisfactory  and  economical  method  for 
these  operations,  and  that  production  efficiency  is  greater  and 
the  physical  efficiency  of  the  men  better  maintained.  That 
three-shift  operation  is  more  satisfactory  to  the  men  is  indi- 
cated by  the  fact  that  though  there  was  formerly  a  twelve- 
hour  plant  across  the  Canadian  border  where  the  men  could 
earn  more  money,  the  company  had  no  difficulty  in  getting 
labor. 

Another  Niagara  Falls  plant  was  on  twelve-hour  shifts 
for  continuous  work  until  the  summer  of  1919.     Then  a 


CHEMICAL  INDUSTRIES  131 

change  was  made  to  three  shifts.  One-third  more  shift-work- 
ers were  required  and  they  now  constitute  about  one-tenth 
of  the  total  force.    Under  the  three-shift  system : 

1.  The  output  was  unchanged. 

2.  The  product  was  better  in  quality. 

3.  Better  care  was  taken  of  equipment. 

4.  Waste  was  reduced. 

The  new  electro-chemical  industry  of  the  South  is  on 
twelve-hour  shifts.  At  least  this  was  found  to  be  true  of 
the  important  electro-chemical  center  in  Alabama. 


CHAPTER  X 

SUGAR,  SALT,  PETROLEUM,  COTTONSEED  AND 
OTHER  VEGETABLE  OILS 

SUGAE 

Theke  are  three  branches  of  the  sugar  industry,  all  em- 
ploying continuous  processes. 

1.  The  sugar  mills  of  the  South  which  refine  Louisiana 

cane  sugar. 

2.  The  sugar  refineries  of  the  Atlantic,  Pacific  and  Gulf 

seaboard,  which  refine  imported  sugar. 

3.  The   beet    sugar   factories    of   the    interior,    located 

especially  in  Michigan  and  Colorado,  which  perform 
all  the  processes  from  washing  the  beets  to  the  last 
stages  of  refining. 

The  Louisiana  and  beet  sugar  industries  are  seasonal, 
doing  their  work  in  from  forty-five  to  a  maximum  of  ninety 
or  one  hundred  days  after  the  harvest.  The  refining  of 
imported  raw  sugar  may  be  carried  on  throughout  the  year. 

Louisia^ia  Cane  Sugar. 

So  far  as  could  be  learned  by  correspondence,  the 
Louisiana  mills  which  refine  Louisiana  sugar  are  all  on 
twelve-hour  shifts.  Nearly  all  of  the  employees  are  on  shift- 
work. Some  plants  have  worked  on  six-hour  shifts  with 
two  alternating  crews;  others  are  on  the  straight  twelve- 

132 


SUGAR,  SALT,  PETROLEUM,  ETC.  133 

hour  shift.  One  Texas  refinery  formerly  had  four  sets  of 
men,  it  being  the  rule  for  the  twelve-hour  men  to  work  an 
hour  and  lay  off  an  hour,  but  this  plant  is  now  on  a  straight 
two-shift  system.  The  two-shift  system  seems  to  be  univer- 
sally established  in  the  industry,  with  no  thought  of  any 
other  arrangement. 

Refining  of  Imported  Sugar. 

The  refining  of  imported  raw  sugar  is  continuous' 
process  throughout,  excepting  for  the  unloading  of  raw 
sugar,  the  packing  and  delivering  of  the  finished  product, 
and  the  work  of  mechanical  upkeep  and  of  the  office.  Inas- 
much, however,  as  the  departments  named,  especially  those 
charged  with  the  duty  of  filling  many  small  packages, 
require  many  employees,  the  percentage  of  actual  shift- 
workers  may  be  no  greater  than  50  per  cent. 

The  majority  of  the  sugar  refining  companies  of  the 
United  States  operate  on  two  shifts,  save  for  certain  jobs 
such  as  that  of  sugar  boiler,  which  is  generally  on  eight- 
hour  shifts.  The  American  Sugar  Refining  Company,  which 
during  the  War  refined  between  35  and  40  per  cent,  of  all 
the  sugar,  operates  its  plants  on  three  shifts.  In  addition 
to  this  there  are  two  or  three  smaller  refineries  on  the  three- 
shift  basis. 

More  than  usual  importance  attaches  to  the  question  as 
to  whether  a  sugar  refinery  can  operate  on  three  shifts 
without  increasing  cost.  The  industry  in  both  manufactur- 
ing and  retailing,  is  an  example  of  a  tremendous  business 
done  on  a  moderate  and  indeed  close  margin  of  profit.  Com- 
petition is  intense.  It  would  be  impossible  for  one  company 
to  assume  a  manufacturing  cost  substantially  higher  than 
others.  So  it  is  worth  while  to  give  special  attention  to  the 
experience  of  the  American  Sugar  Refining  Company,  which 
went  to  three  shifts  in  the  spring  of  1918. 


134    THE  TWELVE-HOUR  SHIFT  IN  INDUSTRY 

There  are  two  elements  in  the  question  of  the  cost  of 
making  such  a  change: 

1.  The    extra    compensation    due    to    increased    hourly 

rates. 

2.  Productive  efficiency. 

In  the  case  of  the  American  Sugar  Refining  Company 
the  first  of  these  two  elements  was  so  favorable  on  three-shift 
operation  as  practically  to  solve  the  problem  of  cost. 

xVt  the  time  of  the  change  in  the  spring  of  1918  there 
was  no  demand  for  a  reduction  in  hours,  but  general  con- 
ditions were  such  as  to  make  labor  difficulties  likely  at  any 
time.  It  happened  that  a  general  increase  in  wages  was 
about  due.  In  view  of  the  general  conditions  and  its  long 
desire  to  change  to  three  shifts,  the  management  seized  this 
opportunity  to  put  hours  and  wages  on  such  a  basis  as  to 
avoid  friction.  The  management  reduced  the  hours  from 
twelve  to  eight  and  increased  the  hourly  wage  rate.  The 
men  thereby  suffered  no  appreciable  loss  in  weekly  earnings. 
The  company,  on  the  other  hand,  was  not  faced  with  a  wage 
cost  greater  than  it  would  have  been  had  there  been  no 
change  in  hours. 

Shortly  after  the  American  Sugar  Refinery  went  from 
twelve  to  eight  hours  with  an  advance  in  hourly  wage-rates, 
the  other  sugar  refineries,  with  plants  on  the  same  water 
fronts,  increased  their  hourly  wage-rates  in  an  equal  pro- 
portion but  remained  on  twelve  hours.  Thus  their  employees 
received  50  per  cent,  greater  weekly  earnings,  and  this  con- 
dition has  continued  down  to  the  present.  Nevertheless 
throughout  the  extreme  labor  shortage  of  1918,  as  well  as 
through  all  the  period  that  has  since  elapsed,  the  three-shift 
plants  had  no  difficulty  in  keeping  up  their  complement  of 
men.  Further  evidence  that  the  men  prefer  three  shifts 
develops  when  there  is  overtime.     If  overtime  work  is  con- 


SUGAR,  SALT,  PETROLEUM,  ETC.  135 

tinued  very  long,  there  is  decided  objection  on  the  part  of 
the  men,  notwithstanding  the  extra  pay. 

The  change  to  three  shifts  also  worked  out  favorably  as 
respects  the  second  aspect  of  the  cost  question,  productive 
efficiency.  The  company  has  no  exact  figures  covering  the 
subject  but  it  is  the  judgment  of  the  men  in  charge  both  in 
the  general  office  and  in  the  largest  of  the  refineries  that  the 
efficiency  of  employees  is  15  per  cent,  higher  than  it  was 
on  two-shift  operation.  The  management  knows,  for  in- 
stance, that  on  jobs  where  the  work  has  remained  substan- 
tially unchanged  the  men  are  doing  more  now  than  their 
predecessors  were  doing  ten  years  ago.  The  figure  quoted 
does  not  have  reference  to  the  output  of  equipment,  but  that 
has  improved.  Since  having  changed  to  the  shorter  shift 
periods,  there  have  been  outstanding  months  at  each  one  of 
the  refineries,  which  have  shown  an  increased  output  over 
months  for  many  years  past.  The  management  says  that 
absenteeism  and  labor  turnover  have  decreased. 

Table  8  illustrates  an  interesting  feature  of  the  three- 
shift  system  as  worked  out  at  the  Brooklyn  Refinery.  It  is  a 
plan  for  providing  one  day's  rest  in  seven  (as  required  by  the 
iN'ew  York  State  Law)  without  the  introduction  of  relief 
men  (or  attempting  to  secure  exemption,  as  permitted  by 
law,  by  establishing  shifts  uniformly  of  eight  hours).  The 
refinery  shuts  down  for  twelve  (or  thirteen)  hours  on  Sunday, 
which  helps  somewhat.  But  the  necessity  of  providing  a  full 
twenty-four  hours  of  rest,  and  at  the  same  time  rotating 
shifts,  presented  a  complicated  problem  which,  it  will  be 
seen,  was  worked  out  with  unique  results.  The  day-workers 
of  the  American  Sugar  Refining  Company  are  on  a  fiftv- 
hour  week,  with  a  few  on  sixty  hours.  On  Sunday  about 
two  hundred  men  (in  the  one  refinery)  work  on  repairs 
which  cannot  be  done  during  the  week.  These  men  are  given 
a  week-day  oif. 


136    THE  TWELVE-HOUR  SHIFT  IN  INDUSTRY 

Beet  Sugar, 

Almost  all  of  the  beet  sugar  plants  of  the  United  States 
are  on  twelve-hour  shifts.  At  a  plant  investigated  all  hut 
about  fifteen  of  the  two  hundred  and  twenty-five  employees 
were  on  shift-work.  However,  the  operating  season  is  not 
longer  than  ninety  days,  and  during  the  balance  of  the  year 
the  men  either  work  shorter  hours  at  overhauling  the  plant 
or  find  work  elsewhere.  In  Michigan  the  same  men  ccme 
back  year  after  year  in  order  to  obtain  the  large  earnings  for 
twelve-hour  work. 

One  company  having  several  plants  operating  from  a 
main  office  at  Toledo,  Ohio,  tried  three  shifts  during  the 
season  of  1920-21.  But  when  the  plr.nts  reopened  in  the 
fall  of  1921  it  was  on  a  two-shift  basis.  The  management 
said  that  this  was  primarily  because  of  hard  times  in  the 
industry,  the  lower  prices  of  sugar,  the  poorer  beet  crop  and 
the  lower  wage-rates.  The  return  to  two  shifts  was  not  re- 
garded as  a  matter  necessarily  of  permanent  policy,  or  a 
rejection  of  the  three-shift  system.  While  on  three  shifts 
the  company  had  not  noted  any  improvement  in  efficiency. 
It  had  no  difficulty,  however,  arising  from  the  shortness  of 
the  season,  in  getting  labor,  or  in  otherwise  operating  on  the 
three-shift  system. 

In  another  locality  an  important  company  has  had  its 
plants  operating  on  three  shifts  for  the  last  three  seasons.  In 
November,  1921,  the  general  superintendent  of  this  company 
wrote : 

"Our  company  adopted  the  three-shift  system  October  1, 
1919.  This  change  had  been  under  consideration  for  some 
time  prior  to  its  adoption,  but  before  the  end  of  the  war  we 
did  not  think  it  wise  to  attempt  to  draw  from  other  essential 
industries  the  necessary  excess  number  of  men  to  make  the 
three-shift  system  successful.     It  was  our  hope  that  if  tho 


SUGAR,  SALT,  PETROLEUM,  ETC. 


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138    THE  TWELVE-HOUR  SHIFT  IN  INDUSTRY 

three-shift  system  were  adopted,  more  intensive  work  conhl 
be  expected  during  the  shorter  work  period  resulting  in  a 
smaller  number  of  men  per  shift,  higher  production  rate  of 
our  factories  and  possibly  a  better  quality  of  work  per- 
formed, all  of  which  circumstances  might  combine  so  as  to 
result  in  no  increase  of  labor  cost  per  unit  of  production.  We 
also  anticipated  a  lower  rate  of  replacement  of  men,  par- 
ticularly of  key  men. 

''For  seven  years  prior  to  the  change  we  found  our  num- 
ber of  operating  men  required  to  be  practically  constant  from 
year  to  year,  and  think  it  represented  practically  a  minimum 
crew  under  these  conditions.  While,  after  the  change  we  had 
to  overcome  the  dis-inclination  of  labor  to  work  efficiently, 
which  required  about  two  years,  we  feel  that  we  are  again 
very  near  to  a  minimum  basis  as  to  number  of  men  under 
present  conditions,  and  find  that  we  require  only  87  per 
cent,  of  the  number  of  men  per  shift  required  for  seven  years 
before  the  change.  This  smaller  number  of  men  has  in- 
creased capacity  over  22  per  cent.  We  feel  that  the  three- 
shift  system  is  only  one  factor  in  the  increased  capacity  of 
our  plants,  but  that  it  is  nevertheless  one  very  important 
factor.  We  also  find  that  a  better  quality  of  work  is  being 
performed  since  the  change,  as  measured  by  losses  in  pro- 
duction and  economy  in  use  of  materials.  Other  factors  than 
the  hours  of  labor,  of  course,  have  a  bearing  on  higher  effi- 
ciency. .    .    . 

"Our  management  is  necessarily  gratified  over  the  results 
of  the  three-shift  system  and  feels  a  satisfaction  in  the 
greater  contentment  of  our  men  under  improved  working 
conditions.  This  arrangement,  however,  places  a  greater 
burden  on  those  directly  in  charge  of  each  factory  unit  in 
that  the  necessary  supervision  of  three  shifts  necessitates 
long  hours  of  vigilance  on  their  part.  We  operate  three 
shifts  this  season. 


SUGAR,  SALT,  PETROLEUM,  ETC.  139 

"Our  operations  are  seasonal,  each  campaign  lasting 
approximately  one  hundred  days.  Being  seasonal  in  charac- 
ter, the  addition  of  one  new  shift  involves  supplying  the 
necessary  number  of  men,  an  adequate  supply  of  whom  must 
be  on  hand  on  a  certain  date  each  year.  So  far,  we  have  had 
no  serious  difficulty  in  procuring  enough  men,  but  in  a  period 
when  the  supply  of  labor  is  short,  the  three-shift  system 
might  complicate  matters  for  us  considerably." 

The  general  superintendent  further  explains  that  the 
raw  product,  being  a  vegetable,  must  on  account  of  freezing 
weather  be  harvested  faster  than  it  can  be  treated,  necessitat- 
ing the  placing  of  the  excess  in  storage.  This  accentuates 
the  necessity  of  high-speed  treatment.  And  it  makes  espe- 
cially important  the  operation  of  the  plants  to  full  capacity, 
which,  as  the  figures  already  quoted  have  shown,  "can  best  be 
attained  by  three  shifts  of  moderately  fresh  men  as  against 
two  tired  shifts,  which  would  be  the  case  where  men  work 
twelve  hours  per  day  for  a  steady  grind  of  one  hundred  days." 

While  the  general  superintendent  does  not  know  definitely 
what  rates  would  be  necessary  to  secure  adequate  labor  under 
the  two-shift  system,  "^Ye  think,"  he  writes,  "that  our  hourly 
rate  on  labor  is  now  30  per  cent,  higher  than  we  would  offer 
under  a  two-shift  system  and  that  the  monthly  rates  applying 
to  key  men  are  substantially  the  same  under  both  systems." 
And  again,  "the  majority  of  our  men  are  very  enthusiastic 
over  the  three-shift  plan.  ...  A  change  to  the  two-shift  sys- 
tem would  undoubtedly  cause  a  great  deal  of  discontent  at 
this  time." 

TABLE  SALT 

The  salt  industry,  small  in  the  number  ot  men  employed, 
varies  in  the  amount  of  continuous-process  work.  In  some 
plants  only  certain  processes    are    continuous.      Tn    others, 


140    THE  TWELVE-HOUR  SHIFT  IN  INDUSTRY 

practically  the  entire  plant  runs  continuously  except  for  con- 
struction and  repair  work  and  the  putting  of  salt  into  small 
packages. 

Until  within  a  few  years  the  three-shift  system  was  prac- 
tically unknown  in  the  salt  industry,  except  for  a  large 
Akron  plant,  which  changed  to  three  shifts  about  ten  years 
ago.  Even  today  in  some  sections  of  the  country,  the  two- 
shift  system  is  the  prevailing  system.  As  in  the  sugar  indus- 
try, a  large  volume  of  business  is  done  on  a  small  profit.  The 
work  is  largely  that  of  attending  processes  rather  than  hard 
manual  labor.  Managers  used  to  say  that  one  concern  could 
not  go  on  three  shifts  unless  all  did. 

In  New  York  State,  in  sections  where  most  of  the  plants 
are  still  on  two  shifts,  one  company  with  headquarters  at 
Ithaca  changed  to  three  shifts  about  three  years  ago.  It 
reports  no  gain  in  the  efficiency  of  the  men.  War  conditions 
made  it  necessary  to  shorten  hours,  and  pre-war  efficiency  had 
not  been  regained  as  late  as  December,  1921.  The  men  pre- 
fer the  three  shifts,  provided  the  present  w^ages  continue.  Not- 
withstanding this  rather  unfavorable  report,  Ihe  manage- 
ment states  that  if  any  change  is  made  it  will  reduce  wage- 
rates  rather  than  lengthen  hours.  There  is  no  desire  to  go 
back  to  the  two-shift  system. 

In  Michigan  practically  all  the  large  salt  works  are  oper- 
ating on  three  shifts.  In  the  northern  section  one  small  plant 
(employing  twenty  men,  six  on  shifts)  was  on  a  two-shift 
basis.  In  the  same  city  a  larger  plant  was  on  three  shifts. 
Elsewhere  in  Michigan  there  are  instances  of  salt  works  on 
two  shifts.  In  the  territory  bordering  the  Saint  Clair  River 
north  of  Detroit,  all  the  works  apparently  are  on  throe  shifts. 
One  company  having  works  in  Michigan,  Kansas  and  Texas, 
has  all  its  plants  on  three  shifts. 

In  these  large  Michigan  plants  some  with  as  many  as 
five  hundred  employees,  perhaps  one-third    to    one-half    of 


SUGAR,  SALT,  PETROLEUM,  ETC.  141 

whom  are  on  shift-work,  the  twelve-hour  day  is  thought  to 
be  a  thing  of  the  past.  At  one  plant  it  was  said  that  three 
shifts  had  worked  satisfactorily.  The  management  of  this 
plant  thought  at  first  that  they  could  also  get  along  with  as 
few  men  on  eight-hour  shifts  as  on  twelve-hour  shifts.  But 
in  the  course  of  a  year  they  found  they  had  almost  as  many 
men  on  a  shift  as  they  had  had  before.  At  another  plant  it 
was  said  that  while  the  older  men  might  be  no  more  efficient 
on  three  shifts,  the  new  men  could  not  be  got  to  work  twelve 
hours. 

The  salt  producers'  association,  located  at  Detroit,  stated 
that  early  in  1921  practically  all  the  salt  companies  were  on 
three  shifts.  The  statement  regarding  the  extent  of  three- 
shift  operation  evidently  reflected  the  western  situation 
rather  than  the  practice  in  the  East,  in  parts  of  which  two 
shifts  are  still  employed.  Though  the  three-shift  system  is 
clearly  not  universal  in  the  salt  industry,  and  though  there 
may  have  been  some  tendency  towards  change  both  ways,  it 
would  appear  that  in  a  substantial  part  of  the  industry  the 
three-shift  system  is  permanent.  Some  of  the  companies 
state  that  there  have  been  improvements  in  production. 

PETEOLEUM 

The  refining  of  petroleum  is  one  of  the  few  industries  in 
which  no  examples  were  found  of  twelve-hour  operations. 
This  may  not  mean  that  for  a  certainty  there  are  no  two- 
shift  petroleum  refineries,  but  the  Standard  Oil  groups  are 
solidly  on  three  shifts,  the  ''independents"  on  the  Gulf  say 
that  they  are  on  three  shifts  and  a  very  small  refinery  at 
Pittsburgh,  running  on  three  shifts,  took  it  for  granted  that 
there  was  no  alternative.  Every  one  consulted  has  been  of 
the  opinion  that  the  practice  is  universal. 

At  one  time  there  existed  in  the  oil  industry  a  twenty- 


142    THE  TWELVE-HOUR  SHIFT  IN  INDUSTRY 

four  hour  shift.  In  order  that  there  might  be  as  little  break 
as  possible  in  the  supervision,  or  distillation,  two  men  would 
work  twentj-four  hours  on  and  twenty-four  hours  off. 

Shortly  before  the  United  States  entered  the  European 
War,  the  various  refineries,  which  had  up  to  that  time  been 
on  two  shifts,  changed  to  three  shifts.  There  is  some  dispute 
as  to  which  company  went  first,  whether  the  Standard  Oil 
or  one  of  the  Gulf  "independents."  The  change  was  made, 
however,  primarily  out  of  deference  to  general  principle, 
because  it  was  conceived  that  the  eight-hour  shift  was  the 
right  thing  and  would  be  better  from  the  labor  standpoint. 
At  the  time  the  change  was  made  wage-rates  were  rising  and 
the  men  were  given  as  much  for  eight  hours  as  they  had  pre- 
viously received  for  twelve  hours.  While  the  companies  did 
not  expect  to  operate  so  cheaply  as  on  two  shifts,  there  was 
some  expectation  that  on  a  shorter  day  the  men  would  do 
better.  But  this  change  was  made  at  the  beginning  of  the 
War,  when  labor  conditions  were  continually  getting  worse,  so 
that  it  was  not  possible  to  trace  much  improvement.  Some 
noted,  however,  that  whereas  under  the  two-shift  system  the 
men  had  been  negligent  about  their  work  at  night,  under  the 
three-shift  system  this  situation  was  improved.  On  the  whole 
the  companies  think  that  in  the  long  run  the  men  do  better 
work  with  the  shorter  shift,  especially  those  having  direct 
responsibility  for  the  quality  of  the  product. 

With  the  wage  reductions  of  1921  there  has  been  some 
tendency  to  lengthen  hours  on  day-work.  At  a  Philadelphia 
refinery  the  only  request  to  work  twelve  hours  had  come  from 
some  of  the  laboratory  men,  who  were  engaged  on  roiitine 
sample  testing.  This  request  was  not  pressed  nor  granted. 
In  spite  of  the  idea  at  one  time  held  that  a  man  should  be  on 
duty  twenty-four  hours,  the  refineries  have  no  serious  diffi- 
culty arising  out  of  the  assignment  of  three  men  to  the  same 
task  in  twenty-four  hours. 


SUGAR,  SALT,  PETROLEUM,  ETC.  143 

About  one-third  of  the  employees  in  a  refinery  investi- 
gated were  on  shift-work. 

These  general  conclusions  are  based  on  inquiries  in  New 
York,  Philadelphia,  Pittsburgh  and  Texas,  including  both 
large  and  small  companies,  'independents"  and  the  Standard 
Oil  group. 

The  production  of  oil,  as  distinguished  from  refining,  is 
not  in  all  cases  on  three  shifts.  Pipe  lines,  except  in  rare 
instances,  are  on  three  shifts.  The  drilling  of  oil  wells  is  on 
two  shifts,  except  in  Texas  and  possibly  California.  In 
Texas,  oil-well  drilling  was  first  on  two  twelve-hour  shifts ; 
then  on  three  eight-hour  shifts ;  then,  in  a  part  of  the  Texas 
field,  on  two  shifts  of  ten  hours  each.  The  pumping  of  oil 
in  the  field  is  day-work. 

The  apparent  reasons  for  leaving  drilling  on  twelve-hour 
shifts  when  all  other  phases  of  oil  production  and  refining 
are  on  a  different  basis  are: 

1.  The  fact  that  a  considerable  part  of  the  work  is  done 

by  contractors  who  determine  with  the  men  their 
own  working  conditions. 

2.  The  intensely  active  spirit  which  pervades  the  oil  fields 

and  which  results  in  rush  work  and  long  hours. 

3.  The  fact  that  the  conditions  are  so  different  from  those 

of  manufacturing  that  the  movement  towards  eight- 
hour  shifts  in  manufacturing  has  little  influence. 


COTTONSEED  OIL 

There  are  two  branches  of  the  cottonseed  oil  industry: 
The  cottonseed  crushers  scattered  throughout  the  cotton  belt 
and  the  oil  refineries  located  in  the  North. 


144    THE  TWELVE-HOUR  SHIFT  IN  INDUSTRY 

CottoTiseed  Crushing. 

Crushing  is  the  most  important  branch  of  the  industry 
from  the  labor  standpoint.  There  are  from  seven  hundred 
and  liftj  to  eight  hundred  mills  in  which  cottonseed  oil  is 
made. 

The  main  processes  in  a  crusher  consist  in  the  linting 
and  cracking  of  the  seed,  shaking  out,  rolling  into  fine  flakes, 
and  cooking  the  meal,  and  pressing  the  resulting  "cake"  to 
obtain  the  crude  oil. 

The  equipment  in  the  industry  has  been  enormously  over- 
expanded,  so  that,  though  a  cottonseed  crusher  could  run  the 
year  round,  and  should  run  for  eight  months  in  order  to  get 
satisfactory  costs,  the  equipment  in  mills  is  such  that  an 
ordinary  crop  of  seed  could  be  crushed  in  ninety  days.  The 
mills  controlled  by  large  companies  often  run  for  eight  or 
even  nine  months.    Others  run  for  only  thirty  to  sixty  days. 

The  proportion  of  the  men  on  shift-work  in  this  industry 
is  unusuflly  large.  One  company  employing  about  5,000 
men  reported  that  in  a  plant  employing  two  hundred  and 
twenty  about  one  hundred  and  ninety  are  on  twelve-hour 
shifts.  Another  leading  company  states  that  the  proportion 
of  shift-workers  is  near  100  per  cent. 

The  extreme  shortness  of  the  operating  season  (for  the 
majority  of  plants)  is  an  influence  towards  two-shift  opera- 
tion. Another  factor  is  that  most  of  the  labor  is  colored. 
According  to  the  management  of  one  company  operating 
many  plants,  the  colored  employees  constitute  90  or  95  per 
cent,  of  the  total  force.  One  plant  investigated  had  only  five 
white  men  out  of  more  than  one  hundred  employees.  But 
whether  for  these  or  other  reasons,  there  are  few  if  any  in- 
dustries so  universally  on  two  shifts.  So  far  as  could  be 
learned  no  crusher,  unless  it  might  be  in  Texas,  is  on  three 
shifts.    During  the  last  season,  which  was  slack,  a  few  plants 


SUGAR,  SALT,  PETROLEUM,  ETC.  145 

have  tried  daytime  operation  only,  but  it  is  thought  that  this 
would  be  unsatisfactory  as  a  permanent  proposition. 

Even  where  there  are  day-workers,  they  may  also  be  on 
twelve-hour  shifts.  In  a  plant  employing  about  one  hundred 
men,  the  cake  mill,  employing  six  men,  operated  daytime 
only.  Also  on  day  work  were  two  linter-saw  sharpeners,  one 
linter-man,  one  oiler,  and  one  man  responsible  for  local  de- 
liveries, eleven  besides  the  irregular  force  of  unloaders. 
Nevertheless  every  man  in  the  plant,  both  of  the  shift  and 
day-workers,  was,  with  the  exception  of  the  man  who  made 
local  deliveries,  on  a  twelve-hour  day. 

It  is  sometimes  said  in  explanation  of  the  twelve-hour 
shift  in  cottonseed  crushers  that  the  work  is  not  hard  except 
in  the  press  room,  and  that  the  presses,  which  must  be  filled 
about  once  in  twelve  minutes,  may  be  filled  by  a  good  crew 
in  considerably  less  time  than  that,  thus  giving  a  rest  period 
before  it  is  necessary  to  start  again  with  the  handling  of  the 
meal  cake. 

In  view  of  the  experience  of  companies  in  other  indus- 
tries with  putting  colored  or  seasonal  labor  on  eight-hour 
shifts,  it  would  seem  that  these  factors  are  not  so  important 
in  keeping  cottonseed  crushing  on  two  shifts  as  might  at  first 
thought  appear.  The  investigator  believes  that  the  extent 
of  twelve-hour  work  is  more  a  habit  than  a  condition  inherent 
in  the  industries  or  the  ^pe  of  labor.  If  that  is  so,  then  the 
question  of  two-shift  versus  three-shift  operation  will  ulti- 
mately be  as  much  an  open  question  in  cottonseed  crushing 
as  in  any  other  continuous  industry. 

Cottonseed  Oil  Refining. 

The  amount  of  labor  required  in  refining  is  small,  com- 
pared to  that  needed  in  cnishing,  and  much  of  the  work  is 
done  in  the  daytime.  The  refining  goes  on  in  part,  however, 
through  the  night,  and  then  there  are  night  employees  in 


146    THE    TWELVE-HOUR  SHIFT  IN  INDUSTRY 

the  boiler  and  engine  rooms.  Of  late  there  has  been  a  ten- 
dency to  put  these  fireroom  and  engine  room  employees  on 
three  shifts.  Those  who  must  work  in  the  refining  depart- 
ments at  night  may  be  on  two  shifts,  but  they  are  few  in 
number. 

The  Procter  &  Gamble  cottonseed  oil  refining  plant  oper- 
ates under  the  five-shift  system  described  in  Chapter  IX. 
(See  page  126.) 


LINSEED   AND  OTHER  VEGETABLE   OILS 

Linseed  crushing  and  refining  are  carried  on  in  the  same 
plants,  located  chiefly  in  Minneapolis,  Buffalo  and  near  New 
York  City.  The  number  of  employees  in  the  whole  industry 
is  small  and  those  on  night  duty,  particularly  on  refining 
processes,  exceedingly  small,  not  more  than  a  few  men  to 
keep  watch  over  processes.  In  the  West  these  men  are  on 
three  shifts;  in  the  neighborhood  of  New  York  City  they 
are  on  two  shifts.  The  engine  room  employees  are  on  two 
shifts  in  all  three  localities. 

Other  vegetable  oils  are  refined,  probably  more  or  less 
by  continuous  processes,  by  the  same  general  groups  of  com- 
panies which  refine  cottonseed  and  linseed  oil.  The  indus- 
tries, however,  are  small. 


CHAPTER  XI 

PAPER,    FLOUR,    RUBBER,    MISCELLANEOUS 
MANUFACTURES,  MINES 

THE  PAPER  AND  PULP  INDUSTRY  LARGELY  CONTINUOUS 

Of  the  industries  which  operate  continuously  mainly  for 
mechanical  reasons,  paper  manufacturing  is  the  most  im- 
portant. 

The  total  number  of  wage  earners  in  the  "paper  and 
wood  pulp"  industry,  according  to  the  Census  of  Manu- 
factures of  1919,  was  114,000.  The  industry  is  in  the  main 
very  solidly  continuous  in  operation.  Shift-work  may  begin 
with  the  cutting  of  logs  into  chips.  It  includes  all  the  de- 
partments actually  manufacturing  pulp  or  paper.  It  may 
or  may  not  extend  to  special  finishing  operations  performed 
on  paper  after  it  comes  from  the  paper  machines.  In  some 
paper  mills  the  only  employees  not  on  shift-work  are  the 
mechanics  on  repair  work.  One  mill  investigated  employed 
five  hundred  and  fifty-two  men,  four  hundred  and  sixty  on 
shift-work  and  only  ninety-two  on  day-work.  The  number 
en  shift-work  in  two  other  plants  was  one  hundred  and 
twenty-one  out  of  a  total  of  two  hundred  and  seven  workers 
in  the  one  ease,  and  four  hundred  and  fifty-five  out  of  a 
total  of  six  hundred  and  fifty-five  in  the  other. 

In  some  sections  of  the  paper  industry  shift-work  is  less 
general  as  the  management  has  succeeded  in  arranging  more 
of  the  work  on  a  nine-  or  ten-hour  basis.  This  is  disclosed  by 
a  study  made  in  the  mills  of  Massachusetts  in  the  fall  of 

147 


148    THE    TWELVE-HOUR  SHIFT  IN  INDUSTRY 

1912.^  It  was  found  that  of  the  13,000  employees  in  the 
paper  and  wood  pulp  industry  in  that  state,  30  per  cent,  were 
on  shift-work,  68  per  cent,  were  on  day-work,  about  half  on 
nine  hours  and  about  half  on  ten  hours,  and  approximately 
2  per  cent,  were  employed  on  some  arrangement  not  specified. 
It  is  not  known  why  the  number  of  shift-workers  in  Massa- 
chusetts should  be  as  low  as  30  per  cent.' 

On  the  Whole  a  Three-Shift  Industry. 

The  pulp  and  paper  industry  is  mostly  on  three  shifts 
(or  tours  as  they  are  called  in  the  industry),  although  the 
industry  still  contains  a  number  of  two-shift  plants.  Of  the 
shift-workers  in  the  mills  of  Massachusetts,  30  per  cent,  were, 
in  1912,  on  twelve-hour  shifts,  and  70  per  cent,  on  eight-hour 
shifts.  In  the  next  two  years,  six  Massachusetts  mills 
changed  to  three  shifts,  not  a  large  enough  change,  however, 
to  affect  materially  the  proportion  of  twelve-hour  workers. 

The  Census  of  Manufactures  for  1914  showed  that  about 
16,500  of  the  88,000  wage-earners  in  the  paper  industry  were 
in  plants  where  the  prevailing  hours  of  labor  were  seventy- 
two  hours  a  week  or  over.^  This  figure  is  far  from  accurate 
even  for  that  date,  as  it  does  not  include  paper  plants  where, 
as  in  Massachusetts,  less  than  half  of  the  employees  are  on 
shift-work.  A  study  of  the  hours  of  6,379  individual  em- 
ployees in  paper  plants,  both  day-workers  and  shift-workers, 
made  in  1919  by  the  Bureau  of  Labor  Statistics,*  showed  that 
7  per  cent,  of  the  number  worked  twelve  hours.     In  1921, 

'  Massachusetts  Labor  Bulletin  No.  103  '  *  Wages  and  hours  of  labor 
in  the  paper  and  wood  pulp  industry." 

^  The  low  perccntaj^e  of  shift-workers  in  ^Massachusetts  paper  mills 
may  be  because  most  of  the  mills  manufacture  fine  paper,  with  a  high 
percentage  of  employees  in   the  finishing  rooms. 

*The  1919  census  tabulations  do  not  show  the  number  of  seventy-two 
hour  workers.  But  the  figures  for  plants  working  "over  sixty"  hours 
indicate  that  the  number  of  seventy-two-hour  workers  had  been  greatly 
reduced. 

'U.  S.  Bureau  of  Labor  Statistics,  Bulletin  No.  265  "Industrial 
survey  in  selected  industries  in  the  United  Slates,  1919." 


PAPER,  FLOUR,  RUBBER,  ETC.      149 

one  of  the  large  associations  of  paper  manufacturers,  having 
about  one  hundred  and  twenty-five  members  in  several 
branches  of  paper  making,  reported  that  about  20  per  cent, 
of  its  member  plants  were  on  two  shifts. 

Varying  Practice  m  Different  Sectiotis. 

This  figure  is  not  to  be  taken  as  representative  of  the  en- 
tire industry,  as  the  practice  varies  in  different  branches  of 
the  industry  and  in  different  localities.  The  making  of  tissue 
paper  is  to  a  considerable  extent  on  two  shifts.  The  news- 
print paper  plants  are  on  three  shifts  generally,  if  not  uni- 
versally. In  general,  the  large  paper-making  centers,  New 
England  and  Kalamazoo,  Michigan,  are  on  the  three-shift 
system.  In  smaller  paper  mill  centers  the  two-shift  operation 
still  prevails  in  many  instances. 

There  is  a  wide  variation  of  practice  in  some  districts. 
Eor  example,  in  Philadelphia  there  are  no  mills  on  two 
shifts,  yet  some  are  found  in  Wilmington.  The  mills  in  the 
Miami  Valley  south  of  Dayton  are  on  three  shifts,  while 
north  of  Cincinnati  they  are  mainly  on  two  shifts.  Only 
three-shift  mills  could  be  found  in  Kalamazoo.  The  few 
mills  in  Minneapolis  are  on  two  shifts.  On  the  whole,  how- 
ever, the  paper  industry  is  on  three  shifts.  It  appears  that 
not  over  10  or  15  per  cent,  of  the  industry  is  on  two-shift 
operation. 

The  question  of  shift  systems  in  the  paper  industry  has 
roused  considerable  interest.  Mr.  Robert  B.  Wolf  has  pre- 
pared a  report  on  the  changing  of  three  plants  from  two  to 
three  shifts,^  giving: 

1.  Figures  on  manning  scales. 

2.  Quantity  and  quality  of  production. 

3.  Labor  cost. 

"Printcil   in  tho  Bulletin  of  the  Taylor  Society,  February,   1921,  as 
part  of  discuision  on  the  Three-Shift  System  in  the  Steel  Industry. 


150    THE  TWELVE-HOUR  SHIFT  IN  INDUSTRY 

4.  Other  data  showing  the  advantage  of  three-shift  over 
the  two-shift  system. 

It  contains  ample  proof  of  the  increased  eflSciency  which 
can  be  gained  in  the  paper  industry  by  going  to  three  shifts. 

While  Mr.  Wolf  states  that  the  improvement  was  in  part 
due  to  mechanical  betterments  and  in  part  to  the  stimulated 
interest  of  the  men  in  their  work,  he  is  confident  that  the 
improvements  realized  would  not  have  been  attained  had  the 
companies  continued  to  operate  on  the  two-shift  system. 

The  evidence  collected  indicates,  however,  that  gains  as 
outstanding  as  those  described  by  Mr.  Wolf  are  not  to  be  ex- 
pected if  divorced  from  the  effort  to  bring  out  the  interest  and 
efficiency  of  the  men,  which  distinguished  the  introduction 
of  the  three-shift  system  in  the  plants  which  he  described. 

An  unusual  situation  exists  in  a  southwestern  Ohio  paper 
company  which  has  two  plants  under  one  roof,  one  of  the 
plants  on  two-shift  operation  and  the  other  on  three-shift 
operation.  The  hourly  wage-rates  are  fixed  regardless  of 
whether  the  length  of  the  day  is  twelve  or  eight  hours,  so  that 
the  men  in  the  twelve-hour  plant  earn  50  per  cent,  more  than 
the  men  in  the  eight-hour  plant.  This  condition  has  existed 
for  some  time  without  friction.  There  is  enough  difference 
between  the  type  of  mills  and  the  work  in  the  two  plants  so 
that  the  men  could  not  easily  change  back  and  forth  between 
the  two.  In  the  one  plant  the  men  prefer  eight-hour  work 
and  in  the  other  twelve.  The  management  reports  no  dif- 
ference in  the  efficiency  of  the  men  in  the  two  plants. 

Further  evidence  as  to  the  wide  variation  in  the  results 
obtained  by  different  organizations  may  be  noted  in  the 
Massachusetts  report  on  "Wages  and  Hours  of  Labor  in  the 
Paper  and  Wood  Pulp  Industry."  In  this  report,  the  man- 
ning scales  of  the  six  paper  mills  which  changed  from  two 
to  three  shifts  between  1912  and  1914  are  given  before  and 


PAPER,  FLOUR,  RUBBER,  ETC.      151 

after  the  change.  The  per  cent,  increase  in  pay  rolls  ascribed 
to  the  change  in  shift  systems  varied  from  .2  and  .9  per  cent, 
increase,  respectively,  for  the  two  companies  having  the  best 
records,  to  26.8  and  17.7  per  cent,  increase,  respectively,  for 
the  two  companies  having  the  poorest  records.  That  the  in- 
crease in  wage  cost  was  on  the  whole  moderate  is  indicated 
by  the  fact  that  the  two  companies  which  occupied  the 
medium  position  increased  their  respective  pay  rolls  only 
4.2  and  5.7  per  cent.  In  the  case  of  at  least  four  of  the  six 
companies,  the  increase  in  wage  costs  was  so  moderate  that 
they  might  easily  have  been  offset  by  a  small  increase  in 
ejSiciency. 

In  the  paper  industry,  more  than  in  some  others,  there 
is  a  disadvantage  in  three-shift  operation  growing  out  of  the 
necessity  of  three  changes  in  personnel  a  day.  This  applies 
especially  to  such  work  as  requires  fine  adjustment  of  equip- 
ment and  special  attention  to  uniformity  of  composition, 
color,  etc.,  and  where  plants  make  many  batches  of  special 
paper. 

The  attitude  of  labor  in  the  industry  towards  three-shift 
operation  depends  considerably  on  whether  the  men  are  or- 
ganized or  are  in  localities  where  the  unions  have  exerted 
little  influence.  In  the  former  case  they  are  usually  much 
more  desirous  of  going  to  an  eight-hour  shift.  On  the  whole 
the  employees  are  strongly  in  favor  of  the  three-shift  system 
and  would  be  very  much  opposed  to  going  back  to  two  shifts. 
It  was  stated,  indeed,  that  but  for  the  three-shift  system  en- 
terprising young  men  would  shun  the  paper  industry. 

FLOUR  A  THREE-SHIFT  INDUSTRY 

Practically  all  of  the  large  flour  mills  in  the  large  centers 
are  on  three  shifts.  In  the  large  milling  centers,  those  plants 
which  had  not  previously  gone  to  three  shifts,  did  so  during 


152    THE  TWELVE-HOUR  SHIFT  IN  INDUSTRY 

the  War.  Country  mills  or  those  located  in  small  towns 
usually  run  by  day  only.  Those  located  in  the  West  went  to 
an  eight-hour  day  during  the  War.  In  the  last  year  or  two 
some  of  these  have  gone  back  to  ten  hours.  Small  mills  in 
the  East  run  a  single  shift  of  ten  hours.  In  some  of  the 
cities  of  the  East  are  to  be  found  mills  operating  twelve-hour 
shifts.  At  Chattanooga  is  a  mill  which  operates  a  twelve- 
hour  shift  even  when  operations  are  confined  to  daytime. 

The  Minneapolis  mills  set  the  pace  by  adopting  three 
shifts  in  1902  or  1903.  Although  for  a  time  some  employees 
were  retained  on  nine  or  ten-hour  work,  the  eight-hour  day 
became  universal  in  the  Minneapolis  mills  about  April,  1918, 
and  the  mills  now  operate  on  a  six-day  week. 

In  fact,  what  the  Minneapolis  managers  have  been  giving 
most  thought  to  in  recent  years  (as  respects  hours)  has  been 
the  question  of  the  eight-hour  versus  the  ten-hour  day  for 
those  men  who,  prior  to  1918,  were  on  ten  hours.  This  in- 
cludes roustabouts,  packers,  millwrights,  sweepers,  etc.  The 
change  from  ten  to  eight  hours  in  these  departments  seems 
to  have  worked  well.  In  the  Washburn-Crosby  Mills  the 
flour  packers  did  as  much  in  eight  as  in  ten  hours.  Under  the 
ten-hour  day  they  had  really  worked  only  nine  hours.  Even 
in  the  nine  hours  that  they  did  work,  thore  was  an  unwritten 
law  covering  the  number  of  barrels  which  constituted  a  day's 
packing.  The  men  were  asked  if  they  would  do  as  much  in 
eight  hours  as  in  ten.  They  said  that  they  would,  and  they 
did.  In  some  of  the  mechanical  departments,  as  for  instance 
the  millwrights,  where  the  day's  task  was  less  definite,  the 
management  found  it  necessary  to  add  to  the  number  of  men. 
The  increase  in  personnel  was  not  large,  and  might  be  partly 
accounted  for  by  an  increase  in  the  volume  of  work. 

The  shift  men  at  the  Washburn-Crosby  Mills  are  rotated 
once  a  month,  but  the  roustabouts  and  packers  who  are  on 
shifts  do  not  rotate.     The  management  believes  that  it  gets 


PAPER,  FLOUR,  RUBBER,  ETC.      153 

a  better  type  of  labor  because  of  being  on  the  eight-hour  day, 
and  that  accidents  are  less  frequent. 

Three-Shift  Operation  Profitable. 

The  Minneapolis  experience  with  three  shifts  is  of  inter- 
est because: 

1.  It  shows  the  effect  of  three-shift  operation  over  a  period 

of  twenty  years. 

2.  During  much  of  this  period  the    Minneapolis    mills 

were  in  competition  with  important    mills    which 
were  still  operating  on  twelve-hour  shifts. 

It  was  difficult,  indeed,  to  ascertain  definitely  the  effects 
of  the  change  from  two  shifts  to  three  in  Minneapolis  because 
it  was  made  previous  to  the  incumbency  of  many  of  those  now 
managing  the  mills.  A  former  head  miller  stated  that  the 
cost  of  production  was  somewhat  higher  after  the  change,  but 
that  the  men  worked  better.  In  certain  mills  where  there  had 
been  four  men  on  each  shift  or  eight  altogether,  three  were 
sufficient  on  three  shifts  or  a  total  of  nine.  In  his  judgment 
what  had  seemed  an  extravagant  thing  to  do  proved  to  be 
an  efficient  procedure. 

The  result  of  the  long  experience  with  three  shifts  in 
Minneapolis  has  been  to  establish  the  system  firmly. 

A  mill  superintendent  of  Philadelphia,  a  man  of  long 
experience,  stated  that  there  is  no  question  but  that  flour 
mills  can  operate  on  three  shifts  with  financial  profit.  This 
is  easy  if  the  two-shift  mill  has  been  badly  run  and  if  tlio 
going  to  three  shifts  is  a  part  of  a  campaign  of  putting  the 
mill  on  a  business-like  basis.  Thus  shortly  after  the 
armistice  a  mill  was  changed  from  two  to  three  shifts  with  a 
reduction  in  the  total  number  of  employees  from  about 
thirty-three  to  twenty-six,  and  an  increase  in  daily  output  of 


154    THE  TWELVE-HOUR  SHIFT  IN  INDUSTRY 

25  per  cent.    The  details  of  the  maiming  scale  on  two  shifts 
and  three  shifts  follow: 


TABLE  9 

Comparative  Manning  Scales  of  Flour  Mill,  Two-Shipt  System 
AND  Three-Shift  System 

(A  case  of  unusual  gain,  due  in  part  to  more  than  usually  poor  organi- 
zation while  under  the  twelve-hour  system) 


Occupation 

Manning  scale  on 
two  shifts. 

Manning  scale  on 
three  shifts. 

Distribution 

No. 

Distribution 

No. 

Millers 

1  on  a  shift   

2 
3 
3 

21 

4 

33 

1  on  a  shift 

3 

Oilers 

1  on  each  shift,  extra 
in  daytime 

Distribution  not  spec- 
ified   

1  on  each  shift 

1  on  each  shift 

3  packers  and  2  load- 
ers on  each  shift . 

Daytime  only 

Total 

3 

Sweepers 

3 

Packers        and 
roustabouts . . . 

Elevators 

5     packers    and    1 
trucker  on  each 
shift,  9  day  load- 
ers   

Daytime  only 

Total 

15 

2 
2fi 

Although  this  mill  was  not  up  to  standard  in  efficiency 
when  on  a  twelve-hour  day,  yet  the  data  show  some  inter- 
esting facts : 

1.  The  greater  proportionate  increase  in  the  number  of 

those  in  a  supervisory  capacity,  as  millers. 

2.  A  general  improvement    of  the    organization    after 

changing  to  three  shifts,  bringing  savings  in  day- 
work  as  well  as  in  shift-work.     The  suggestion  is 


PAPER,  FLOUR,  RUBBER,  ETC.      155 

that  the  twelve-hour  shift  may  he  accompanied  by 
laxity  even  in  the  day-work. 
3.  In  spite  of  the  reduction  in  the  number  of  men  an 
increase  in  the  output  of  the  plant  from  seven  hun- 
dred and  seventy-five  to  nine  hundred  barrels  per 
twenty-four  hours. 

The  above  is  an  extreme  example.  A  better  illustration 
is  a  Louisville  mill,  which  was  put  on  three  shifts  about  1913. 
In  this  mill  three  shifts  were  operated  with  no  larger  force 
of  men  than  had  been  used  on  two  shifts,  the  number  being 
about  one  hundred  and  fifty  before  and  about  one  hundred 
and  fifty  after  the  change.  But  it  was  stated  that  the  output 
was  increased  by  100,000  barrels  per  year,  or  30  per  cent. 
This  reduced  the  manufacturing  cost  about  35  per  cent. 

The  gains  are  not  limited  to  savings  in  manning  or  to  in- 
crease in  the  volume  of  material  handled.  An  important 
gain  is  made  in  conserving  and  increasing  the  percentage  of 
fiour  which  is  obtained  from  the  wheat.  The  Philadelphia 
mill  superintendent  above  referred  to  said  that  if  milling 
methods  are  not  what  they  should  be,  a  part  of  the  flour  in 
the  grains  of  wheat  is  lost  and  goes  into  the  feed.  In  the 
milling  of  flour,  the  grain  is  "broken"  several  times  and  the 
flour  sifted  out,  sorted  as  it  were,  and  made  to  flow  through 
such  channels  and  to  such  mills  as  will  save  as  much  of  the 
flour  as  possible.  Be  rearranging  the  mill  flow  and  by  special 
care  on  the  part  of  the  millers  the  proportion  of  the  flour 
saved  can  be  increased. 

The  savings  in  manning,  the  increase  in  the  capacity  of 
a  mill,  and  the  conservation  of  flour  are  largely  due  to  the 
planning  of  the  management.  But  it  is  held  that  these 
changes  cannot  be  brought  to  the  highest  effectiveness  unless 
millers  and  men  cooperate;  and  they  cooperate  much  better 
on  eight  hours  than  on  twelve. 


156    THE  TWELVE-HOUR  SHIFT  IN  INDUSTRY 

EUBBER 

Every  reply  to  an  inquiry  regarding  the  rubber  industry 
was  to  the  effect  that  there  is  now  no  twelve-hour  shift  in  the 
industry. 

Before  the  rise  in  importance  of  the  automobile  tire, 
rubber  plants  rarely  worked  at  night.  The  industry  was 
then  centered  in  Massachusetts.  But  when  a  plant  did  op- 
erate nights,  it  was  on  eleven  and  thirteen-hour  shifts.  Upon 
the  development  of  the  rubber  tire,  the  length  of  time  re- 
quired for  vulcanizing,  which  in  the  early  days  was  four  or 
five  hours,  together  with  the  rapid  expansion  of  the  business, 
caused  a  distinct  increase  in  the  amount  of  continuous-opera- 
tion, especially  as  respects  vulcanizing.  There  was,  accord- 
ingly, a  considerable  period,  lasting  in  Akron  until  1916, 
in  which  the  eleven  and  thirteen-hour  shifts  were  an  im- 
portant feature  in  a  rubber  plant.  Following  the  adop- 
tion of  the  three-shift  system  in  1916,  and  prior  to  the  de- 
pression in  the  industry  a  year  ago,  the  unprecedented 
activity  of  the  industry  caused  a  general  adoption  of  con- 
tinuous-operation in  tire  manufacture.  Generally  the  equip- 
ment came  to  be  run  continuously  on  a  three-shift  basis. 

Since  the  depression  in  the  industry  there  has  been  a 
marked  difference  of  opinion  regarding  the  permanence  or 
the  advisability  of  continuous-operation.  Technically,  it  is 
not  so  important  since  the  vulcanizing  process  has  been  re- 
duced in  time  from  four  or  five  hours  to  about  one  and  a  half 
hours.  Some  hold  that  it  was  only  the  abnormal  production 
and  rapid  expansion  of  the  industry  which  brought  about 
continuous-operation,  and  that  there  is  no  technical  reason 
why  the  industry  should  stay  on  continuous-operation.  Others 
say  that  in  view  of  the  expensive  equipment  and  the  rapidity 
with  which  it  becomes  obsolete  it  should  be  operated  to  its 
full  capacity  duriug  its  life.     The  vulcanizing  process,  more- 


PAPER,  FLOUR,  RUBBER,  ETC.      157 

over,  invites  continuous-operation,  though  not  so  insistently 
as  the  heat  process  in  many  industries.  At  present  there  la 
an  overexpansion  of  equipment  in  the  industry,  so  that  it  is 
likely  that  the  pressure  of  circumstances  will  cause  an  aban- 
donment of  continuous-operation.  However,  many  of  the 
elements  are  present  which  in  other  industries  have  led  and 
still  lead  to  a  large  measure  of  continuous-operation. 

At  the  time  of  writing,  1922,  owing  to  abnormal  condi- 
tions in  the  industry,  the  working  schedules  of  the  Akron 
plants  are  arranged  in  many  different  and  exceptional  ways. 
There  is  no  indication  as  to  what  the  permanent  outcome  will 
be.  Temporarily  the  Goodrich  Rubber  Company  has 
changed  from  three  eight-hour  shifts  to  two  shifts  totaling 
twenty-one  hours,  the  day-shift  being  ten  hours  and  the  night- 
shift  eleven.  During  the  other  three  hours  the  plant  is  idle. 
The  day-shift  works  five  and  a  half  days  a  week — fifty-five 
hours  in  all ;  and  the  night  shift  five  nights  a  week — likewise 
fifty-five  hours  in  all.  To  say  that  the  company  was  on  ten 
and  eleven-hour  shifts  without  further  qualifications  would 
be  misleading,  not  only  because  the  eleven-hour  shift  is  only 
run  five  nights,  but  because  work  is  so  slack  that  the  men  do 
not  work  the  full  fifty-five-hour  week.  For  the  time  being, 
fifty-five  hours  is  the  standard,  but  it  is  not  the  actual  prac- 
tice. 

The  principal  change,  which  was  in  the  length  of  the 
working  day,  has  carried  with  it  a  new  arrangement  of  sev- 
eral other  details  as  respects  shifts.  Under  the  three  eight- 
hour  shift  system,  the  plant  operated  from  12  Sunday  mid- 
night to  11a.  m.  Saturday.  The  company  experienced  diffi- 
culty due  to  the  fact  that  men  on  the  Saturday  afternoon  shift 
would  not  report  for  work.  Under  the  present  arrangement 
there  is  no  Saturday  afternoon  shift.  Under  the  former 
system,  the  men  ate  during  working  hours.  Now  the  two 
shifts  are  each  split  around  a  half-hour  lunch  period,  so  that 


158    THE  TWELVE-HOUR  SHIFT  IN  INDUSTRY 

the  plant  is  closed  down,  aside  from  these  lunch  periods,  for 
two  hours.  One  of  the  reasons,  it  should  be  stated,  why  the 
ten  and  eleven  hour  arrangement  was  adopted  was  because 
it  would  help  on  the  housing  shortage  until  such  time  as  the 
situation  should  be  relieved. 

The  management  finds  that  the  showing  of  the  ten  and 
eleven-hour  arrangement  has  been  more  profitable  both  to  the 
management  and  the  men  than  the  eight-hour  arrangement. 
The  special  circumstances  noted  above  must,  however,  be  taken 
into  account,  also  the  fact  that  the  comparison  was  between 
an  eight-hour  shift  system  operated  when  the  labor  situation 
was  unfavorable,  the  turnover  large,  and  housing  inadequate, 
and  a  ten-hour  shift  system  operated  when  these  conditions 
were  reversed. 

In  recent  years  there  has  been  no  rotation  of  shifts  in  the 
Goodrich  plant.  In  the  early  days  shifts  did  rotate.  The 
company  thinks  that  from  the  standpoint  of  fixed  habits  of 
the  men  it  is  better  not  to  rotate.  The  men  like  the  fixed 
shifts  better.  The  older  men  get  the  day  shift.  When  the 
company  was  on  three  shifts,  the  men  disliked  most  the  shift 
from  11  p.  M.  to  7  a.  m.^  but  the  greatest  loss  of  efficiency 
was  on  the  shift  from  3  p.  m.  to  11  p.  m.  because  of  the 
irregularity  of  attendance  on  Saturday  afternoons.  The  Good- 
rich plant  does  not  employ  women  at  night,  as  do  some  of  the 
other  Akron  plants,  but  during  the  War  there  was  a  departure 
from  this  practice,  and  it  was  found  that  many  women  pre- 
ferred the  night  shift.  The  power  plant,  which  runs  seven 
days  a  week,  is  still  on  eight  hours. 

The  movement  to  a  fifty-five  hour  week  for  Goodrich  shift 
workers  is  part  of  a  larger  movement  from  an  eight-hour 
day  to  a  fifty-five  hour  week  for  day-workers.  In  the  manu- 
facture of  tires,  65  per  cent,  of  the  employees  are  on  shift- 
work, but  as  tire  manufacture  constitutes  only  about  one- 
third  of  the  Goodrich  plant,  and  the  rest  of  the  plant  does  not 


PAPER,  FLOUR,  RUBBER,  ETC.      159 

have  night-work,  only  about  one-fifth  of  the  total  enrollment 
of  employees  are  on  shift-work.  It  should  again  be  noted 
that  the  present  plan  is  one  adopted  for  the  present  situation, 
and  the  management  does  not  regard  it  as  necessarily  per- 
manent. Other  concerns  at  Akron  are  working  on  different 
basis,  some  on  eight-hour  shifts.  It  is  said  that  none  have 
adopted  twelve-hour  shifts. 

BREAKFAST  FOODS 

The  manufacture  of  breakfast  foods  is  largely  an  auto- 
matic process.  In  the  manufacture  of  corn  flakes, 
for  instance,  the  initial  stages  are  analogous  to  milling. 
The  second  stage  is  cooking,  the  third,  rolling  the  cooked 
grains  into  flakes.  The  flakes  are  then  passed  through  ovens 
and  toasted,  and  packed  into  cartons.  Throughout  these 
operations  the  product  is  carried  by  chutes,  on  belts  or  other- 
wise conveyed.  The  cartons  are  machine  filled.  The  indus- 
try is  primarily  a  machine  industry,  the  greatest  need  for 
labor  being  in  connection  with  the  packing,  where  women  are 
employed.  If  a  plant  makes  its  own  cartons,  they  are  manu- 
factured on  day-work,  or  on  two  shifts  totaling  less  than 
twenty-four  hours.  But  all  the  processing  of  the  product  is 
continuous. 

The  preparation  of  cereal  foods  is  usually  on  three  shifts. 
Of  the  two  leading  concerns  at  Battle  Creek,  Michigan,  one 
has  women  employees  on  three  shifts,  men  on  two  shifts ;  the 
other  is  operating  three  shifts  as  respects  both  men  and 
women. 

The  plant  on  three  shifts  adopted  the  plan  about  1910. 
Three-shift  operation  is  uniformly  applied  in  all  the  depart- 
ments which  actually  handle  the  product  from  the  mills  that 
work  on  the  corn  to  the  packing.  The  power  plnnt  is  also  on 
three  shifts.     The  unloading  of  corn  is  on  a  ten-hour  day. 


160    THE  TWELVE-HOUR  SHIFT  IN  INDUSTRY 

The  mechanical  men  are  mostly  on  a  single  eight-hour  shift, 
but  the  machine  shop  runs  three  eight-hour  shifts.  The  print- 
ing of  the  paper  stock  for  cartons  is  on  two  eight-hour  shifts, 
or  on  three  eight-hour  shifts  depending  upon  the  season. 

The  understanding  between  the  board  of  directors  and 
the  management  of  the  plant  was  that  the  product  was  to 
cost  no  more  than  when  on  two  shifts.  The  effort  to  keep 
within  the  limit  of  costs  was  successful.  In  changing  to 
three  shifts,  the  management  called  the  foremen  together  and 
obtained  their  suggestions.  Jobs  were  eliminated  wherever 
possible.  The  employees  as  a  rule  did  not  get  such  high 
earnings  per  day  on  three  shifts  but  received  more  per  hour, 
the  largest  cut  in  daily  wages  being  one-sixth.  In  some  cases 
employees  earned  more  on  eight  hours  than  they  had  earned 
on  twelve. 

The  effect  of  three  shifts  on  cost  was  not  uniform  in  all 
departments.  In  the  producing  departments,  three  shifts 
w^ere  made  to  pay.  The  work  of  some  groups  of  employees, 
such  as  engineers,  and  general  overhead  labor,  costs  more. 
One  department  where  success  in  keeping  down  cost  was 
greatest  was  the  boiler  room.  The  company  allotted  the 
amount  it  could  afford  to  pay  in  wages,  and  the  boiler  room 
was  left  to  work  out  its  own  manning  schedule. 


BAKERIES 

The  arrangement  of  work  periods  in  bakeries  varies 
widely. 

In  a  large  Philadelphia  bakery  the  only  employees  whose 
working  hours  were  definitely  fixed  were  those  in  the  power 
plant,  the  watchmen,  and,  to  a  degree,  the  drivers.  Not  all 
the  mixing  or  all  the  baking  was  done  at  the  same  time,  and 
because  of  the  fluctuation  in  the  demand  for  bread  even  the 
men  who  had  regular  assignments  of  work  had  no  definite 


PAPER,  FLOUR,  RUBBER,  ETC.      161 

hours.  The  day  for  mixers  and  bakers  ranged  from  seven  to 
nine  hours,  an.  ordinary  run  being  forty-five  to  forty-eight 
hours.  The  only  employees  on  three  shifts  were  the  power 
plant  men  and  the  watchmen. 

The  only  employees  of  this  bakery  who  worked  long 
turns  were  the  drivers,  who  worked  from  about  midnight 
to  about  noon  the  next  day — sometimes  as  much  as  thirteen 
hours.  The  drivers  worked  on  commission  and  largely  ran 
their  own  business ;  their  working  time  depended  on  the  size 
of  the  trade,  the  nature  of  the  route — whether  city  or  sub- 
urban— and  doubtless  on  the  despatch  with  which  they 
worked.  The  company  tried,  however,  to  limit  the  routes  to 
ten  hours. 

The  practice  in  this  bakery  is  thought  to  represent  the 
practice  throughout  Philadelphia. 

In  Chicago  baking  has  been  on  three  eight-hour  shifts 
for  many  years,  all  the  stages  of  bread  making  proceeding 
throughout  the  t^venty-four  hours.  There  is  no  baking,  how- 
ever, on  Saturday.  The  three  shifts  at  a  plant  investigated 
were  about  equal  in  respect  to  the  number  of  men  employed, 
and  included  practically  all  employees.  At  the  time  of  mak- 
ing the  study,  business  was  slack,  partly  because  of  a  pro- 
tracted strike  and  some  plants  were  only  running  two  eight- 
hour  shifts.  The  drivers  in  Chicago  have  no  regular  hours, 
some  of  the  men  covering  their  routes  in  eight  hours,  others 
taking  twelve  hours. 

In  the  state  of  Ohio,  twelve  of  the  two  hundred  and 
eighty-seven  bakeries  reporting  to  the  Industrial  Commission 
in  1915  gave  their  full-time  working  week  as  seventy-two 
hours  or  over.  By  1919,  this  proportion  had  boon  reduced 
to  two  bakeries  out  of  four  hundred  and  three.  Such  statistics 
as  are  available  indicate  a  tendency  towards  longer  hours,  on 
the  part  of  certain  groups  of  bakery  employees,  than  are 
common  in  the  strictly  non-continuous  industries. 


162    THE  TWELVE-HOUR  SHIFT  IN  INDUSTRY 

SAW  MILLS 

Saw  mills  are  ordinarily  operated  during  the  day  only, 
or  on  two  eight-hour  or  two  ten-hour  shifts.  However,  a  few 
years  ago  two  of  the  largest  saw  mills  in  the  country,  one  in 
Louisiana,  and  the  other  in  the  Northwest,  were  operating 
on  three  eight-hour  shifts. 


INDUSTRIES  WHICH  FLUCTUATE  BETWEEN  CONTINUOUS- 
AND  NON-CONTINUOUS  OPERATION 

The  industries  grouped  under  this  classification  are  not 
necessarily  continuous,  and  as  a  rule  do  not  operate  con- 
tinuously. At  times,  however,  either  commercial  conditions 
or  the  advantages  of  an  increase  in  operating  time  as  applied 
to  heavy  equipment  may  cause  them  to  operate  day  and  night. 

In  general  the  fabricating  as  opposed  to  the  processing 
industries  run  by  day  only.  The  ordinary  manufacturing 
industries :  machine  shops,  furniture  factories,  clothing  shops, 
shoe  shops  and  plants  manufacturing  electrical  goods,  loco- 
motives, typewriters  and  the  construction  industry  are  defi- 
nitely daytime  industries.  During  rush  periods,  however, 
there  is  some  night-work,  and  in  a  few  of  the  more  heavily 
equipped  of  these  industries  there  is  a  growing  tendency  to 
favor  sixteen-hour  or  twenty-four-hour  operation  as  a  con- 
tinuous or  recurrent  arrangement. 

Automohiles. 

The  clearest  illustration  of  this  tendency  is  the  automobile 
industry  of  Detroit.  Most  of  the  large  automobile  manufac- 
turers of  Detroit  operate  on  two  eight-hour  shifts.  The 
largest,  the  Ford  plant,  operates  on  a  combination  of  two 
eight-hour  and  three  eight-hour  shifts. 

The  Ford  policy  is  to  change  this  department  or  that  from 
two  to  three  shifts,  or  from  three  to  two  shifts  (of  eight  hours 


PAPER,  FLOUR,  RUBBER,  ETC.      163 

each)  as  required  to  keep  the  capacity  of  the  plant  adjusted 
to  the  demand  for  automobiles.  In  October,  1921,  only 
about  20  per  cent,  of  the  departments  were  on  three  shifts, 
but  sometimes  as  high  as  Y5  per  cent,  are  on  that  basis. 
No  women  or  children  are  employed  on  any  but  the  day- 
shift.  Watchmen,  like  other  employees,  are  on  eight-hour 
shifts.  The  plant  runs  either  five  or  six  days  a  week,  and 
shifts  are  rotated  once  every  two  weeks,  thus  making  a  com- 
plete round  in  six  weeks. 

The  practice  among  the  other  larger  plants  is  to  operate 
on  a  day  shift  of  about  nine  hours  for  five-and-a-half  days 
or  fifty  hours  per  week.  The  night  shift  is  ten  hours  for 
five  nights — likewise  fifty  hours  per  week.  The  smaller 
factories  run  twelve  hours  at  night  for  five  nights  or  sixty 
hours  a  week.  Their  day-shift  would  be  less  than  twelve 
hours,  thus  leaving  some  interval  between  the  day  and  night 
work 

Shipbuilding^ 

Shipyards  run  in  the  daytime  only,  except  when  making 
rush  repairs,  and  contemplate  no  change.  Watchmen,  of 
course,  must  be  employed  at  night.  The  largest  shipyard 
on  the  Delaware  River,  employing  one  hundred  and  eighty 
watchmen,  works  them  on  three  eight-hour  shifts. 

Textiles. 

Textile  manufacturing  is  a  daytime  industry.  But  night 
operation  is  a  common  practice,  especially  when  business  is 
good.  A  few  textile  mills  located  in  the  North  have  run  on 
three  shifts.  There  is  no  special  advantage  in  making  the 
day  and  night  shifts  continuous.  Commonly  there  is  one  day 
shift  and  one  night  shift,  which  together  work  somewhat  less 
than  twenty-four  hours. 


164    THE  TWELVE-HOUR  SHIFT  IN  INDUSTRY 

In  Georgia,  the  mills  frequently  nni  nights,  but  not  for 
more  than  sixty  hours  a  week.  The  state  law  forbids  a  week 
of  longer  than  sixty  hours  for  any  shift  in  this  industry.  The 
custom  is  to  run  only  five  nights  of  twelve  hours  each.  A  day- 
shift  of  sixty  hours  is  based  on  an  eleven-hour  day,  as  the 
mills  run  only  half  a  day  on  Saturday.  A  minority  of  the 
Georgia  mills,  which  turn  out,  however,  more  than  half  of  the 
product,  have  adopted  a  fifty-five  hour  week  on  day-work. 
The  managements  believe  that  the  employees  will  do  as  much 
in  ten  as  in  eleven  hours.  A  twelve-hour  night  shift  and  an 
eleven-hour  day  shift  give  practically  continuous-operation 
on  a  two-shift  basis,  for  the  six  days  and  five  nights  which 
the  plant  runs. 

The  textile  mills  in  the  Carolinas  operate  on  much  the 
same  arrangement  as  in  Georgia. 

In  the  North,  night  work  is  common,  but  there  is  con- 
siderable variation  in  the  length  of  the  shifts.  This  is  partly 
due  to  state  laws  regulating  the  hours  of  women,  which  in 
effect  determine  the  hours  worked  by  the  men.  One  company 
having  mills  in  several  states  operates  a  forty-eight  hour 
week  in  Massachusetts,  a  fifty-four  hour  week  in  Rhode 
Island,  and  a  fifty-five  hour  week  in  Connecticut.  Often  the 
number  of  hours  in  any  one  working  day  is  longer  than  the 
number  of  hours  worked  per  week  divided  by  six,  because  of 
a  Saturday  half-holiday,  or  because  of  working  only  five 
nights.  The  company  mentioned  runs  its  plants  six  nights, 
which  gives  shifts  of  about  eight  or  nine  hours. 

A  company  operating  in  New  York  State  reports  that 
about  half  of  its  1,000  to  1,200  employees  are  on  shifts, 
continuous-operation  being  the  ordinary  practice  throughout 
the  year.  This  company  during  1918-19-20  ran  its  yarn  mill 
on  three  eight-hour  shifts.  The  department  is  now  (1922) 
on  one  ten-hour  shift  (fifty-four  hours  a  week),  and  one 
twelve-hour  shift  (sixty  hours  a  week).     The  spinning  room, 


PAPER,  FLOUR,  RUBBER,  ETC.      163 

wash  houses,  etc.,  are  on  one  ten-hour  and  one  twelve-hour 
shift.  The  finishing  room,  where  only  women  are  employed, 
is  on  a  single  shift  of  ten  hours  (fifty-four  a  week). 
This  company  has  not  employed  women  at  night,  except  on 
the  evening  eight-hour  shift  when  the  yam  mill  was  on  that 
basis. 

In  Pennsylvania  some  of  the  silk  mills  have  departments 
operating  on  two  twelve-hour  shifts.  At  a  large  bleachery  in 
Delaware,  employing  about  1,300  persons,  four  or  five  de- 
partments sometimes  run  at  night,  when  the  plant  is  busy. 
About  three  hundred  employees  are  then  on  shifts,  the  day- 
shift  running  from  7  a.  m.  to  5 :30  p.  m.  and  the  night-shift 
from  5 :30  p.  m.  to  7  a.  m. 


BORDER-LINE  INDUSTRIES 
Slaughtering. 

Meat  packing  is  not  a  continuous-operation  industry. 
Because  of  the  great  fluctuations  in  the  number  of  head  of 
stock  brought  to  the  market  on  diiferent  days,  there  are  rush 
days  and  slack  days.  This  situation  was  recognized  in  a 
decision  made  in  1921  by  Judge  Alschuler,  then  acting  as 
arbiter  for  the  Chicago  packing  industry,  which  permitted 
the  operation  of  the  plants  slightly  over  eight  hours  (the 
standard  day)  on  several  days  a  week.  Were  there  no  rules 
or  precedents  it  is  possible  that  in  this  industry  long  hours 
might  alternate  with  short  hours.  But  the  packers  are  not 
disposed  to  start  an  extra  shift  for  such  limited  periods  as 
the  rush  work  occupies. 

Power  plants  are  the  only  important  part  of  a  packing 
establishment  to  require  continuous  attention.  Before  1021 
they  had  been  on  two  twelve-hour  shifts,  but  for  them  also  the 
Alschuler  awards  established  an  eight-hour  dny^  Watchmen 
are  still  on  two  twelve-hour  shifts.     Aside  from  men  in  the 


166    THE  TWELVE-HOUR  SHIFT  IN  INDUSTRY 

power  plants  and  watchmen,  there  are  a  few  men  on  con- 
tinuous work  in  charge  of  tanks.  These  men  were  put  on 
eight-hour  shifts  by  the  arbitration  awards. 

East  of  Chicago  the  Alschiiler  awards  did  not  apply  and 
some  of  the  power  plants  may  be  on  twelve-hour  shifts. 

Canning. 

The  canning  of  vegetables  brings  a  fluctuating  demand 
for  labor.  When  weather  conditions  bring  in  a  huge  crop  of 
tomatoes  all  at  once,  the  canneries  are  taxed  to  their  utmost 
capacity,  and  work  almost  any  length  of  hours  for  a  short 
period.  The  canning  establishments  do  not,  so  far  as  learned, 
run  an  extra  shift.  They  cannot  run  two  shifts  or  three 
shifts  because  they  lack  the  supervising  personnel.  One  lead- 
ing concern  reported  that  there  had  been  occasions  during  the 
tomato  season  when  a  small  group  would  work  through  the 
entire  twenty-four  hours,  but  this  was  exceptional.  Their 
maximum  working  day,  imder  ordinary  rush  conditions,  is 
fifteen  hours,  and  ordinarily  it  is  only  nine  hours. 

Creameries. 

No  systematic  study  of  creameries  has  been  made.  No 
concerns  were  found  to  have  run  continuously,  except  as  re- 
gards the  men  responsible  for  power  and  refrigeration.  Sta- 
tistics for  hours  in  creameries  indicate  that  the  working  week 
is  longer  than  in  many  other  industries,  but  this  is  due  in 
part  to  a  seven-day  week. 

MINE&— TUNNELING 

The  main  operation  in  mining  need  not  be  continuous, 
but  to  a  large  extent  they  are  run  on  more  than  one  shift. 
There  is  no  day  or  night  under  ground,  and  the  mines  must 
be  pumped  and  kept  in  operating  condition.  Hence  the  ten- 
dency towards  shift-operation. 


PAPER,  FLOUR,  RUBBER,  ETC.      167 

In  odd  cases,  mines  may  be  run  on  twelve-hour  shifts  as 
was  found  to  be  true  of  clay  mines  in  Florida,  but  this  is 
exceptional.  The  main  work  of  mining  differs  from  the  super- 
visory type  of  work  which  is  characteristic  of  the  continuous 
industries,  in  that  it  involves  a  large  proportion  of  hea\7' 
manual  labor.  The  loss  in  efficiency  on  twelve-hour  shifts 
would,  therefore,  be  much  more  obvious.  This  nature  of  the 
work,  together  with  the  lack  of  special  reason  for  continuous- 
operation  and  the  influence  of  trade  unions,  has  fixed  the 
workday  of  the  miner  at  about  eight  hours. 

In  some  instances  mines  are  operated  on  two  shifts  of 
about  eight  hours  each.  The  work  on  the  two  shifts  may 
be  different — cutting  and  blasting  on  one  shift,  and  loading 
on  the  other ;  or  the  work  of  the  second  shift  may  consist  of 
tunnelling  and  other  work  incidental  to  keeping  the  mines 
clear.  In  other  mines  two  eight-hour  shifts  of  the  same  kind 
of  work  are  run,  and  sometimes  three  eight-hour  shifts.  The 
latter  is  the  practice  in  copper  mining  in  the  West.  Two 
shifts  (of  eight  hours)  are  more  common  than  three. 

There  are,  however,  auxiliary  occupations  in  mines  which 
necessarily  are  continuous,  such  as  those  of  engineers,  fire- 
men and  pumpmen.  In  metal  mines  these  men  are  mainly 
on  eight-hour  shifts. 

In  the  union  and  some  of  the  non-union  mines  in  the  bitu- 
minous coal  fields  of  Pennsylvania,  engineers,  firemen,  and 
perhaps  pumpmen  work  on  eight-hour  shifts.  That  two  shifts 
for  this  class  of  employees  in  bituminous  mines  is  not  un- 
common is  indicated,  however,  by  statistics  collected  in  1919 
by  the  Bureau  of  Labor  Statistics,'  which  show  a  scattering 
of  twelve-hour  men  among  employees  in  these  three  occu- 
pations. In  some  localities,  the  twelve-hour  men  formed  a 
considerable  proportion  of  the  total,  as  in  Oklahoma,  which 

•U.  S.  Bureau  of  Labor  Statistics,  Bulletin  No.   265,  "Industrial 
survey  in  selected  industries  in  the  United  States,  1919." 


168    THE  TWELVE-HOUR  SHIFT  IN  INDUSTRY 

bad  seven  twelve-hour  pumpmen  out  of  fifteen,  and  twelve 
twelve-hour  engineers  out  of  seventeen;  and  in  Indiana, 
which  had  twentj  twelve-hour  firemen  out  of  thirty.  In 
other  states,  including  Pennsylvania,  the  proportions  were 
smaller. 

In  the  anthracite  field,  the  twelve-hour  shift  is  almost 
universal  for  pumpmen.  An  operator  knew  of  no  mine  which 
had  its  pumpmen  on  three  shifts.  The  figures  collected  by 
the  Bureau  of  Labor  Statistics  in  1919  showed  that  more 
than  71  per  cent,  of  the  pumpmen  in  the  anthracite  field 
averaged  twelve  hours  a  day  or  over.  Engineers  and  firemen 
were  some  years  ago  put  on  eight-hour  shifts  and  there  are 
few  on  the  two-shift  system  at  the  present  time. 

The  sentiment  of  the  anthracite  operators  is  different  in 
respect  to  engineers  and  firemen  on  the  one  hand,  and  pump- 
men on  the  other.  The  former  classes  of  employees  work 
hard,  and  the  eight-hour  shift,  the  operators  think,  is  not 
unreasonable.  But  the  pumpmen  have  little  to  do  except  turn 
a  valve  now  and  then.  The  pumpman  is  probably  a  retired 
miner  who  wants  a  steady  but  not  too  difiicult  job.  He  wants 
to  make  what  money  he  can  for  his  family  and  is  said  not  to 
mind  the  hours.  So  the  operators,  though  they  sympathize 
with  the  idea  of  putting  engineers  and  firemen  on  three 
shifts,  think  that  to  put  pumpmen  on  that  system  would  be 
unreasonable.  This  distinction  did  not,  however,  strike  the 
bituminous  operators  as  important,  many  of  whom  have  gone 
ahead  and  put  their  pumj^men  on  three  shifts. 

In  tunneling,  which  presents  much  the  same  problem  as 
mining,  two  eight-hour  shifts  are  used.  In  the  construction 
of  the  Catskill  aqueduct,  however,  the  work  of  excavating  was 
continuous  in  both  headings  from  each  shaft.  There  were 
two  eight-hour  drilling  shifts,  with  a  four-hour  mucking 
period  after  each. 


CHAPTER   XII 
ELECTRICITY,    GAS,    WATER,    ICE 

Factory  Power  Plants. 

There  is  an  increasing  tendency  for  factories  to  buy 
rather  than  to  generate  electric  current.  While  most  of  the 
establishments  investigated  develop  their  own  power,  thirty- 
six  out  of  eighty-six  cement  plants  from  which  data  were 
collected  purchase  power. 

A  power  plant  is  more  or  less  continuous  even  in  the 
case  of  those  industries  which  are  not  continuously  operated. 
But  the  number  of  workers  at  night  is  less  than  by  day. 
Moreover,  it  is  possible  to  arrange  overlapping  shifts  which 
will  provide  more  men  during  the  period  when  work  is  active 
and  fewer  when  it  is  inactive,  without  any  of  the  men  being 
on  exactly  twelve-hour  or  eight-hour  shifts.  This  means  that 
night  men  may  often  be  on  duty  for  twelve  hours,  or  even 
more,  but  the  possibilities  of  arrangement  are  flexible,  and 
there  is  a  wider  choice  of  working  periods  than  is  permissible 
in  power  houses  or  other  factory  departments  whose  main 
processes  run  continuously  and  where  the  only  practical 
alternative  is  between  the  twelve-hour  and  the  eight-hour 
shift. 

The  power  departments  of  plants  which  operate  con- 
tinuously present  much  the  same  problem  in  shift  arrange- 
ment as  exists  in  the  production  departments  of  those  in- 
dustries. In  general,  power  plants  in  factories  have  been  run 
on  twelve-hour  shifts  do^vn  to  the  last  few  years.  At  present 
there  is  a  strong  tendency  to  put  engineers  and  firemen,  in 

169 


170    THE  TWELVE-HOUR  SHIFT  IN  INDUSTRY 

common  with  other  continuous-operation  employees,  on  three 
shifts.  In  some  of  the  continuous  industries  there  is  a 
stronger  tendency  to  put  engineer  and  boiler  room  employees 
on  three  shifts  than  process  men,  who  may  not  have  much 
manual  work  to  do.  In  other  instances,  especially  where 
mechanical  stokers  are  used,  the  men  in  the  power  depart- 
ments have  been  thought  less  deserving  of  an  eight-hour  shift 
than  other  employees.  But  since  boiler  and  engine  rooms 
usually  run  continuously,  if  any  factory  department  does, 
and  may  run  twenty-four  hours  when  almost  no  other  depart- 
ments do,  the  actual  number  of  twelve-hour  employees  among 
engineers  and  firemen  has  been  large.  Generally  in  a  two- 
sliift  plant  they  are  on  two  shifts,  and  they  often  work  two 
shifts  of  twelve  hours  when  most  other  men  in  the  plant  work 
only  ten  hours. 

It  is  hard  to  make  a  general  statement  as  to  the  possibility 
of  attaining  greater  efficiency  or  reducing  manning  schedules 
in  changing  engine  and  boiler  rooms  from  two-  to  three-shift 
operation.  In  some  cases  it  has  been  diffcult  to  make  a  re- 
duction in  the  number  of  men  required,  in  other  cases  there 
has  been  a  material  reduction  in  personnel  per  shift. 

Table  10  shows  the  reductions  in  the  manning  scale 
effected  in  the  power  plant  of  the  Midvale  Steel  Company 
when  that  department  changed  to  three  shifts  in  1914.  The 
management  had  said  that  three  shifts  could  be  put  into 
effect  if  no  additional  men  had  to  be  hired.  The  men  accepted 
this  condition  with  the  agreement  that  they  were  to  receive 
the  same  wages  for  eight  hours  as  they  had  been  receiving 
for  twelve.  While  the  number  of  employees  varied  from 
month  to  month,  the  figures  shown  in  the  table  represent 
average  conditions  with  the  plant  running  at  nearly  full 
capacity. 

There  was  some  increase  in  total  manning  and  hence  total 
pay  roll  in  changing  to  three  shiftSi  but  the  increase  was  not 


ELECTRICITY,  GAS,  WATER,  ICE 


171 


more  tliaii  8  per  cent.  The  smallness  of  the  increase  was 
due  to  the  cooperation  of  the  men  with  the  management,  the 
men  working  harder,  especially  in  Xo.  1  boiler  house,  which 
was  hand-fired.  When  the  plant  was  speeded  up  during  the 
War  the  men  were  unable  to  handle  the  work.  Before  the 
War  was  over,  there  were  as  many  men  on  the  eight-hour 
shifts  as  there  had  been  on  the  twelve-hour  shifts. 


TABLE  10 

COMPAKATIVE    MANNING   ScALES,    TwO-ShIFT   AND   ThREE-ShIFT 

Systems.     Power  Plant,  Midvale  Steel  Company 


No.  1 
boiler 
house 

No.  2 
boUer 
house 

No.  3 
boiler 
house 

Power 
house 

Total 

Two-shift  system: 

Day  shift 

14 
12 

12 
10 

8 
G 

5 
5 

39 

Night  shift 

33 

Total  two  shifts 

Three-shift  system: 

"A"  shift 

"B"  shift 

2G 

10 
9 

8 

22 

9 

8 
7 

14 

6 
5 
5 

10 

4 
4 
3 

72 

29 
26 

"C"  shift 

23 

Total  three  shifts 

27 

24 

16 

11 

78 

Engineers  cmd  Firemen  in  Office  Buildings,  Hotels,  etc. 

There  are  many  small  power  or  heating  and  refrigerating 
plants  in  office  buildings,  hotels,  etc.,  which  require  the  ser- 
vices of  engineers  and  firemen.  Formerly  these  men  were 
on  twelve-hour  shifts.  During  the  War  the  twelve-hour  shift 
practice  for  this  class  of  employee  seems  to  have  been 
eliminated.     Information  from  widely  separated  cities  indi- 


172    THE  TWELVE-HOUR  SHIFT  IN  INDUSTRY 

cates  that  these  men  are  now  generally  working  on  three  shifts, 
or  some  arrangement  other  than  two  shifts. 

Public  Service  Electric  Plants. 

This  investigation  showed  that  practically  no  central 
electric  stations  are  at  present  operating  on  twelve-hour 
shifts.  In  most  cases  the  abandonment  of  the  two-shift 
system  took  place  many  years  ago.  In  1915  only  thirty-two 
of  the  ninety-two  electric  light  and  power  plants  in  Ohio 
reported  a  full-time  working  week  of  seventy-two  hours  or 
more.  By  1919,  there  were  only  six  such  plants  out  of  ninety- 
eight.  In  many  of  the  larger  cities  the  change  to  three-shift 
operation  was  made  ten  to  twenty  years  ago,  and  for  a 
number  of  years  past  the  plants  remaining  on  two-shift  oper- 
ation have  been  of  only  minor  importance. 

It  was  found  that  an  important  power  company  in  Ala- 
bama operated  its  steam  plant  for  three  months  a  year  on 
twelve-hour  shifts.  In  its  hydro-electric  plant,  the  men 
worked  twelve  hours  at  night  and  eight  hours  by  day,  the 
maintenance  men  doing  shift  duty  for  four  hours. 

The  investigator  found  only  the  one  two-shift  company 
during  the  course  of  this  study.  A  table  showing  the  results 
of  an  extensive  analysis  of  the  hours  of  employees  in  various 
electric  plants  scattered  over  the  country,  which  had  been 
compiled  by  electric  interests,  showed  no  employees  working 
twelve  hours  except  a  few  in  one  plant  located  in  Arkansas. 
In  general  it  may  be  said  that  the  generation  of  electricity 
in  central  electric  stations  is  on  three  shifts,  except  that  here 
and  there  a  few  substation  men  are  on  twelve-hour  shifts. 

Electric  plants  have  been  on  three  shifts  for  so  many  years 
that  no  comparison  can  be  made  of  the  relative  cost  and  effi- 
ciency of  two-shift  and  three-shift  operation.  The  question 
is   all   the   more   difficult   because  there  have  been   radical 


ELECTRICITY,  GAS,  WATER,  ICE  173 

changes  in  equipment  and  methods  since  the  two-shift  system 
has  been  abolished. 

Nevertheless,  it  is  important  to  know  whether  the  eight- 
hour  shift  is  an  advantage  or  disadvantage  to  the  industry. 
In  general,  the  electric  companies  report  that  when  they 
changed  to  three  shifts  they  added  about  50  per  cent,  more 
men.  Whether  better  efficiency  was  attained  is  a  question 
answered  in  different  ways. 

The  operating  head  of  a  large  Pittsburgh  station  declared 
that  public  utility  companies  would  not  consider  twelve-hour 
operation,  because  having  gone  more  carefully  into  the  ques- 
tion of  efficient  generation  of  power  than  was  true  of  factory 
power  plants,  they  knew  that  it  was  impossible  to  get  from 
men  working  twelve  hours  a  day  the  rigid  adherence  to  high 
standards  of  operation  essential  to  maximum  economy. 

A  Cincinnati  electric  company  abolished  the  twelve-hour 
day  eight  years  ago.  At  first  they  changed  to  ten  hours,  then 
to  nine  hours,  and  five  or  six  years  ago  to  eight  hours.  This 
plant  operates  at  an  exceptionally  high  thermal  efficiency. 
This  is  due  largely  to  the  plant  construction  and  equipment, 
but  there  has  also  been  developed  an  extensive  program  of 
technical  education  for  the  employees.  Because  of  the  eight- 
hour  shift  and  the  educational  program  made  possible  by  the 
shorter  working  day,  the  company  obtains  employees  of  a 
better  type  than  formerly. 

The  management  of  the  Philadelphia  Electric  Company 
states  that  the  number  of  employees  on  shift-work  was  in- 
creased by  50  per  cent,  in  the  original  change  to  three-shift 
operation.  But  since  that  time  the  equipment  has  become 
more  complex  and  is  now  combined  in  larger  units,  the  work 
of  the  men  is  now  more  diversified  and  the  standard  of  oper- 
ation has  been  raised.  Because  of  these  conditions  the  super- 
intendent is  of  the  opinion  that  the  men  could  not  maintain 
for  twelve  hours  the  quality  of  work  thoy  are  doing  on  an 


174    THE  TWELVE-HOUR  SHIFT  IN  INDUSTRY 

eight-hour  shift.  This  he  thought  would  be  especially  true 
during  the  summer  months.  It  is  his  further  judgment  that, 
if  the  plant  should  now  go  back  to  twelve-hour  shifts,  almost 
as  many  men  would  be  needed  as  are  now  employed  on  eight- 
hour  shifts,  but  that  the  men  would  not  be  willing  to  go 
back  even  if  they  were  paid  as  much  per  hour  for  twelve 
hours  as  for  eight. 

The  Philadelphia  Electric  Company  recently  reduced  the 
working  week  from  seven  to  six  days,  with  results  so  satisfac- 
tory to  both  management  and  men  that  neither  would  favor 
a  return  to  the  longer  week.  The  spirit  of  the  organization 
has  improved  under  the  new  plan,  and  only  one-tenth  instead 
of  one-sixth  more  men  are  needed  for  its  operation. 

In  electric  plants  while  nearly  all  the  main  operating  de- 
partments are  on  shift-work,  such  activities  as  handling  coal 
and  doing  repair  work  are  not  on  a  shift  basis.  In  one  plant 
50  per  cent,  of  the  men  were  on  shift-work  and  50  per  cent, 
on  day-work.  Day-workers  are  often  employed  for  nine  or 
ten  hours,  but  in  practically  all  cases  shift-work  is  now  on 
an  eight-hour  basis. 

GAS 

In  the  gas  industry  the  proportion  of  shift-workers  is 
rather  large.  There  has  been,  in  places,  a  retention  of  the 
system  of  nine-  or  ten-hour  overlapping  shifts.  The  chief 
center  in  which  the  ten-hour  shift,  in  conjunction  with  the 
eight-hour  shift  is  still  employed,  is  Philadelphia  and  out- 
lying localities  in  the  same  operating  system.  Also  the 
twelve-hour  shift  was  long  retained  in  those  gas  plants  em- 
ploying colored  labor.  Richmond,  Virginia,  was  on  twelve- 
hour  shifts  until  the  late  War;  a  leading  Georgia  company 
until  1919,  and  several  of  the  larger  cities  in  Tennessee  are 
still  on  twelve-hour  shifts.  A  large  city  in  Indiana  was  on 
twelve-hour  shifts  until  about  six  years  ago. 


ELECTRICITY,  GAS,  WATER,  ICE  175 

The  managers  of  gas  plants  differ  in  opinion  as  to  the 
effect  of  changing  to  three-shift  operation.  In  Xew  York 
City  the  gas  plants  abandoned  twelve  hours  some  time  ago 
and  more  recently  changed  from  a  nine- to  an  eight-hour  basis, 
arranging  day-work  also  on  eight-hour  schedules.  The  eight- 
hour  system  is  regarded  as  more  satisfactory  than  the  nine- 
hour  system.  At  the  municipally  operated  plant  in  Rich- 
mond the  men  do  as  much  in  eight  as  formerly  in  twelve 
hours.  The  management  maintains  that  the  new  arrange- 
ment is  an  improvement  from  the  standpoint  of  the  city's 
interests. 

The  Georgia  plant  which  changed  in  1919  found  that 
the  general  spirit  and  reliability  of  its  employees,  part 
colored  and  part  white,  was  improved.  There  was  possibly 
some  saving  in  materials  and  upkeep.  However,  50  per  cent, 
more  men  were  required  for  shift-work  at  the  time  of 
change.  At  present  the  operating  crew  is  no  larger  under 
three  shifts  than  it  had  been  under  two,  which  is  due  in  large 
measure  to  improved  machinery.  Output  was  not  affected  by 
the  change.  The  men  prefer  three  shifts,  but  there  has  been 
no  improvement  as  to  absenteeism  and  labor  turnover. 

The  superintendent  of  the  Indiana  plant  reported  that 
there  was  little  difference  in  the  efficiency  of  the  men  on 
twelve-hour  and  eight-hour  shifts.  In  either  case  the  men 
were  given  a  definite  amount  of  work  to  do  in  a  given  time ; 
there  was  a  rest  period  between  the  pushing  of  hot  ovens. 
Under  the  eight-hour  system,  it  was  unnecessary  to  carry 
extra  men  to  take  the  place  of  regular  men  who  were  absent. 
Some  men  were  always  willing  to  work  an  extra  shift,  or 
sixteen  hours,  and  could  do  so  easily.  On  the  other  hand, 
there  was  difficulty  under  the  eight-hour  system  in  getting 
good  foremen  for  the  wages  offered.  The  better  men  pre- 
ferred the  longer  hours  on  account  of  the  higher  pay.  Colored 
labor  preferred  the  shorter  hours,  the  better  class  of  Slavs 


176    THE  TWELVE-HOUR  SHIFT  IN  INDUSTRY 

the  long  hours.     This  company  has  been  contempLiting  re- 
turning to  twelve-hour  shifts. 

A  Colorado  company  found  that  three  shifts  required 
more  men  than  two  shifts.  There  was  no  noticeable  increase 
in  output,  and  it  was  questionable  whether  quality  had  im- 
proved. No  improvement  in  the  case  of  equipment  or  reduc- 
tion in  wastes  had  occurred.  The  changing  to  three  shifts 
had  reduced  labor  turnover  and  absenteeism.  The  manage- 
ment stated  that  both  the  company  and  the  men  were  satisfied 
with  the  three-shift  plan. 

Conditions  in  Philadelphia  Plant. 

The  manufacture  of  gas  in  Philadelphia  illustrates  the 
workings  of  the  ten-hour  shift  arrangement.  There  are  not 
more  than  about  thirty-five  twelve-hour  men.  These  are  em- 
ployed in  the  seven  holder  stations,  with  five  men  each — one 
in  charge  and  four  on  definite  twelve-hour  shifts.  A  few 
watchmen  may  be  on  twelve-hour  shifts.  But  these  twelve- 
hour  shift  holder  station  employees,  together  with  watchmen 
who  may  be  on  the  same  hours,  are  insignificant  in  number 
compared  with  the  1,300  employees  of  the  gas  works  proper. 

When  the  city  operated  the  gas  works  in  1897,  it  is  said 
that  practically  all  the  men  worked  twelve  hours.  When  the 
operation  of  the  works  was  placed  in  private  hands  the  new 
management  reduced  the  day  from  twelve  to  ten  hours.  The 
company  also  arranged  for  the  men  to  have  one  day  off  per 
week — if  they  chose.  Some  of  the  groups  of  men,  however, 
for  example  the  engineers  and  firemen,  usually  work  seven 
days  a  week. 

Some  years  ago  the  management  entertained  the  idea  of 
changing  to  eight-hour  shifts  and  a  six-day  week,  but  as  the 
men  were  not  interested,  the  ten-hour  shift  was  retained. 
However,  the  practice  is  not  uniform  in  all  departments. 


ELECTRICITY,  GAS,  WATER,  ICE  177 

Manufactured  gas  is  of  two  varieties,  coal  gas  and  water 
gas.  The  manufacture  of  coal  gas  formerly  required  much 
shoveling  and  is  still  somewhat  hotter  and  more  difficult  than 
the  making  of  water  gas.  Several  of  the  jobs  in  the  Philadel- 
phia works  making  coal  gas  are  on  three  eight-hour  shifts. 
The  floormen,  who  formerly  shoveled  coal,  the  charging  and 
discharging  machine  men  and  the  coke  men  work  eight  hours. 
The  foremen,  the  coal  conveyor  and  bulling  machine  men 
and  the  engineers  are  on  ten-hour  shifts.  Most  of  the  men 
in  the  retort  house  work  thirteen  days  and  then  have  a  day 
off.  Some  have  one  day  off  in  seven.  The  engineers  have 
no  regular  days  off. 

In  making  water  gas,  the  continuous  work  is  on  ten-hour 
shifts.  Foremen  and  gas  makers  work  six  days  only,  but  all 
others,  including  engineers,  firemen,  water  tenders,  coal 
passers,  clinkerers  and  filter  men,  work  seven  days  a  week. 

The  distillation  plant,  wherein  are  produced  coal  tar 
by-products,  is  on  three  shifts.  The  men  work  ten  hours  a 
day,  seven  days  a  week.  The  still  men  may  go  home  when 
their  work  is  finished,  which  may  be  at  the  end  of  seven, 
eight  or  nine  hours.  Clerks  work  nine  hours.  The  testing 
stations  are  on  three  eight-hour  shifts. 

Several  expedients  are  used  in  Philadelphia  in  providing 
for  ten-hour  shift  operation  while  maintaining  a  continuous 
twenty-four-hour  schedule. 

1.  Under  one  arrangement,  five  engineers  man  two  jobs. 

Two  work  ten  hours  each  on  one  of  the  jobs;  two 
work  ten  hours  each  on  the  other  job  and  the  fifth 
man  works  four  hours  on  one  and  four  hours  on  the 
other  job.  He  then  completes  his  turn  by  working 
two  hours  at  repair  work  in  another  engine  room. 

2.  According  to  anoilior  plan,  three  engineers  work  on 

the  same  job  ten  hours  each  so  as  to  give  two  over- 


178    THE  TWELVE-HOUR  SHIFT  IN  INDUSTRY 

laps  of  one  hour  each  during  which  two  engineers 
are  on  the  job,  and  one  overlap  of  four  hours. 
3.  According  to  another  plan  the  men  come  on  duty  every 
two  hours  and  work  for  ten  hours.  By  having 
twelve  men  working  under  this  arrangement,  an 
even  five  would  be  on  duty  during  every  part  of 
the  day. 

These  examples  show  the  possibility  of  changing  from 
twelve-hour  to  ten-hour  shifts  where  it  is  considered  inad- 
visable to  shorten  the  shifts  to  eight  hours. 


WATER  SUPPLY 

Water-works  plants  must  opearte  continuously.  The 
labor  required,  however,  is  less  than  in  the  case  of  any  other 
public  utility — the  pumping  of  water  for  New  York  City 
requring  only  339  shift-workers  and  forty-seven  day  men. 
The  water-works  plants  of  Richmond,  Atlanta  and  Birming- 
ham require  the  services  of  about  sixteen,  forty-five  and 
twenty-four  shift-workers  respectively. 

Most  water-works  plants  are  on  eight-hour  shifts.  How- 
ever, in  four  southern  cities  in  which  inquiries  were  made 
two  operated  their  plants  on  twelve-hour  shifts.  One  of  these 
is  a  municipal  and  the  other  a  private  plant.  The  third  plant 
had  changed  from  two  to  three  shifts  about  1918.  The  fourth 
had  been  on  three  shifts  for  a  number  of  years. 

In  the  instance  of  the  municipal  plant,  the  men  were 
really  operating  under  a  system  of  twenty-four  hours  on  and 
twenty-four  hours  off,  the  works  being  located  a  little  out 
from  town  and  the  men  preferring  that  arrangement,  appar- 
ently for  reasons  of  transportation. 

In  1915,  four  of  the  sixteen  Ohio  water  works  reporting 
to  the  Industrial  Commission  reported  a  full-time  working 


ELECTRICITY,  GAS,  WATER,  ICE  179 

week  of  seventy-two  hours  or  over.    By  1919  this  had  been 
reduced  to  one  plant  out  of  twenty-three. 


ICE,  ICE  CEEAM,  EEFEIGERATION 

Until  recently  the  manufacture  of  ice  has  been  one  of 
the  most  completely  two-shift  industries  in  the  country,  both 
in  the  proportion  of  shift  employees  in  any  given  plant,  and 
in  the  proportion  of  plants  on  a  twelve-hour  basis.  During 
the  War  three-shift  operation  gained  headway  in  the  East, 
particularly  in  the  case  of  the  large  companies  supplying  the 
chief  seaboard  cities.  One  company  having  plants  in  Boston, 
Philadelphia,  Atlantic  City,  Baltimore  and  Washington 
changed  to  three  shifts  at  that  time.  Today  most  of  the  large 
city  ice  companies  in  both  East  and  West  are  on  a  three-shift 
basis. 

But  there  is  still  a  large  volume  of  twelve-hour  work  in 
the  industry,  particularly  among  the  smaller  plants  and  in 
small  towns.     As  examples: 

1.  Small  companies  in  Philadelphia  and  all  the  plants 

in  Richmond,^  Atlanta,  Birmingham  and  Chatta- 
nooga operate  on  a  twelve-hour  basis. 

2.  The  1919    Census   of  Manufactures  shows  that  the 

great  majority  of  wage-earners  engaged  in  ice  manu- 
facture throughout  the  South  and  a  substantial  pro- 
portion of  those  in  the  North  are  in  plants  where 
the  hours  of  labor  are  over  sixty  hours  per  week. 

3.  All    the    regular    ice    plants    in   Pittsburgh    are    on 

twelve-hour  shifts. 

4.  In  Ohio,  as  late  as  1919,  twenty  out  of  the  one  hundred 

companies  reporting  to  the  state  authorities  gave 

*In  Eichmond  pnfjineors  and  firemen  are  on  eipht-hour  shifts  in  the 
summer  months  and  ice  pidlers  enpatjed  in  the  manufacture  of  ico  from 
aerated  as  opposed  to  distilled  water  are  on  ten-hour  shifts. 


180    THE  TWELVE-HOUR  SHIFT  IN  INDUSTRY 

their  full-time  working  week  as  seventy-two  honrs 
or  over.  In  1915  the  proportion  had  been  forty- 
seven  plants  out  of  seventy. 

In  ice  plants  practically  all  the  work  is  on  a  shift  basis. 
The  engineers  and  firemen  must  be  on  shift-work.  The  ice 
pullers  usually  are  on  shift-work.  However,  the  latter  often 
finish  their  work  in  ten  hours  instead  of  twelve,  or  in  seven- 
and-a-half  hours  instead  of  eight.  In  a  few  cases  ice  pulling 
is  arranged  on  a  single  shift. 

The  manufacture  of  ice  is  highly  seasonal.  The  plants 
are  rather  dormant  during  the  winter  and  occasionally  work 
only  one  shift.  It  is  not  uncommon  for  plants  to  operate 
three  eight-hour  shifts  in  the  summer  and  two  twelve-hour 
shifts  in  the  winter. 

Opinions  regarding  the  relative  efficiency  of  the  two-shift 
and  three-shift  operation  of  ice  plants  vary.  The  men  in 
actual  charge  of  plants  state  that  three-shift  operation  is 
advantageous. 

At  the  plant  of  a  large  company  in  Philadelphia  the 
change  from  twelve-  to  eight-hour  shifts  was  made — without 
changing  the  hourly  wage  rate — ^because  it  was  difficult  to 
get  men  to  work  twelve  hours.  The  increase  in  the  number 
of  shift-workers  was  nearly  50  per  cent.  Table  11,  which 
shows  the  manning  schedules  both  old  and  new,  well  illus- 
trates the  difficulty  of  saving  in  manning  in  a  small  plant. 

The  problem  of  twenty-four  hour  operation  exists  in  ice- 
cream plants,  cold-storage  plants,  dairies  or  other  places 
where  refrigeration  is  necessary.  In  Pittsburgh,  where  the 
ice  companies  are  all  on  two  shifts,  the  largest  ice-cream  com- 
pany has  been  on  three  shifts  for  about  fifteen  years.  The 
chief  engineer  of  this  company  said  that  he  would  not  want 
to  change  to  two  shifts.  During  the  years  which  the  com- 
pany has  operated  its  power  department  on  three  shifts,  the 


ELECTRICITY,  GAS,  WATER,  ICE 


181 


plant  has  grown  so  that  even  on  eight-hour  shifts  the  work 
is  almost  too  heavy  to  handle. 


TABLE  11 

Comparative  Manning  Scales,  Two-Shift  and  Three-Shipt  Systems: 
A  Philadelphia  Ice  Plant 


Occupation 

Number 

employed  on 

two  shifts 

Number 
employed  on 
three  shifts 

Engineers 

2 
2 
2 
2 
8 
1 
1 

3 
3 
3 
3 
11 
1 
1 

Oilers 

Firemen 

Coal  passers 

Ice  pullers 

Handymen 

Extra  labor 

Total 

18 

25 

A  comparison  of  the  situation  in  this  plant  with  that  in 
the  small  Philadelphia  plant  already  described  suggests  that 
the  possibility  of  introducing  an  eight-hour  shift  into  ice 
making  without  loss  depends  in  no  small  measure  on  the 
building  of  larger  and  more  improved  equipment,  into  which 
a  man  may  be  able  to  put  substantially  as  much  labor  and 
usefulness  in  eight  hours  as  he  could  put  into  the  old  style 
equipment  in  twelve  hours. 


CHAPTER  XIII 

TRANSPORTATION,  COMMUNICATION,  CARE- 
TAKING,  PERSONAL  SERVICE 

TRANSPOETATION 

Ocean,  Lake  and  River  Vessels. 

The  lergth  of  the  shift  in  the  shipping  industry  is  im- 
portant from  an  international  as  well  as  a  domestic  standpoint. 
In  this  industry  competition  between  nations  is  pronounced. 
Therefore,  unsatisfactory  labor  requirements  might  seriously 
interfere  with  the  shipping  industry  of  the  country  in  which 
they  exist.  Therefore,  it  is  especially  important  that  the  facts 
regarding  the  operation  of  the  American  merchant  marine 
and  the  foreign  merchant  marines  be  understood. 

The  crews  of  vessels  may  be  divided  into  licensed  deck 
and  engine  officers,  unlicensed  deck  and  engine  crews,  and 
employees  of  the  steward's  department.  All  but  the  last 
named  department  are  primarily  continuous-service  depart- 
ments. The  work  of  the  stewards  extends  over  a  large  part 
of  the  day,  but  the  duties  are  so  arranged  that  each  employee 
works  not  more  than  about  ten  hours. 

The  minimum  number  of  licensed  deck  and  engine  officers 
on  an  American  vessel  is  fixed  by  law  or  by  the  Steamboat 
Inspection  Service.  Practically  no  ocean-going  vessel  of 
consequence  is  allowed  to  sail  without  three  deck  officers  and 
three  engineers,  in  addition  to  the  master  and  chief  engineer. 
This  means  that  so  far  as  officers  are  concerned  the  laws  and 
regulations  prescribe  the  three-watch  system.  However,  the 
watches  are  not  eight  hours  but  are  four  hours  on  and  eight 

182 


TRANSPORTATION,  COMMUNICATION,  ETC.     183 

hours  off.  The  evening  or  dog  watches  are  a  succession  of 
two  two-hour  watches  which  result  in  the  men  being  on  a 
different  watch  each  day. 

The  laws  applying  to  the  Great  Lakes  are  not  so  stringent 
as  those  for  the  ocean.  Many  lake  vessels  carry  only  two 
assistant  engineers.  In  fact,  a  third  assistant  engineer  is  an 
exception.  If  the  chief  engineer  does  not  stand  watch  that 
means  a  two-watch  system  for  lake  engineers.  Also  on 
ocean-going  towboats,  of  which  there  are  a  considerable  num- 
ber employed  in  the  coal  trade  from  Norfolk  north,  there  are 
practically  never  more  than  two  engineers,  including  the 
chief.  That  means  a  two-watch  system  also.  However,  as 
towboats  are  in  port  a  great  deal,  at  which  time  the  crew  has 
little  to  do,  a  two-watch  system  is  not  a  cause  for  grievance. 
On  the  Gulf  coast,  where  the  towboats  are  larger,  engineers 
are  on  three  watches.  Engineers  on  steamboats  on  interior 
rivers  are  on  two  watches.  But  the  boats  are  not  large  and 
the  duties  are  not  heavy.  The  marine  engineers'  union  does 
not  regard  the  two-watch  system  on  ocean-going  towboats  or 
river  boats  as  objectionable.  The  union  is  opposed  to  the 
two-watch  system  for  engineers  on  the  Great  Lakes. 

The  ocean-going  vessels  of  foreign  nations  have  their 
licensed  officers  on  three  watches.  British  vessels  are  apt  to 
carry  more  rather  than  fewer  officers  than  American  vessels. 

The  unlicensed  crew  on  American  vessels,  composed  of 
firemen,  oilers,  water  tenders,  and  coal  passers,^  are  on  a 
three-watch  system  by  law.  This  is  also  the  general  practice 
on  vessels  of  foreign  nations.  Because  of  the  heat  and  hard 
work  the  three-watch  system  for  these  men  is  accepted  as  a 
proper  arrangement. 

It  is  with  respect  to  the  dock  crew  or  the  sailors  that  the 
issue  of  a  two-watch  versus  a  three-watch  system  arises.  The 
traditional  method  of  organizing  the  deck  crew  was  by  the 

*Coal  passers  not  included  in  the  laws. 


184    THE  TWELVE-HOUR  SHIFT  IN  INDUSTRY 

watch-and-watch  systerrL  The  sailors  were  divided  into  two 
squads  who  relieved  each  other  at  regular  intervals,  ordi- 
narily four  hours  apart  throughout  the  day.  and  night.  With 
the  advent  of  the  steamship  there  developed  a  tendency  to 
put  as  many  of  the  deck  crew  as  possible  on  day-work, 
leaving  only  the  two  positions  of  helmsman  and  lookout  to  be 
filled  at  night.  This  mixed  system,  half  day-work  and  half 
a  watch  system,  is  known  as  the  Kalaslii  watch  system. 

Ship  owners  in  this  country  generally  prefer  the  Kalashi 
watch  system,  as  it  means  more  men  at  work  in  the  daytime, 
when  conditions  are  favorable  for  working.  The  sailors 
prefer  it  because  they  like  to  work  by  day  and  sleep  by 
night.  The  general  movement  in  this  country  has  conse- 
quently been  in  the  direction  of  the  adoption  of  this  system. 
England,  however,  operates  its  shipping  on  the  watch-and- 
watch  system.^ 

Prior  to  the  War,  sailors  on  American  vessels  sailing 
from  Atlantic  or  Gulf  ports  were  on  the  watch-and-watch 
system,  which  gave  a  total  of  twelve  hours  of  watch  duty  a 
day.^  This  was  in  accord  with  the  general  practice  among 
all  nations  except  in  the  cases  of  Erance,  Australia  and  New 
Zealand,  whose  vessels  were  on  three  watches.  On  the 
Pacific  Coast  a  three-watch  system  prevailed  for  such  mem- 
bers of  the  deck  crew  as  were  not  on  day  duty  only.  In  1919, 
the  Pacific  Coast  plan  was  adopted  by  ship  owners  and  sea-1 
men  on  the  Atlantic  and  Gulf.  By  the  terms  of  this  agree- 
men  three  men  were  to  perform  the  duties  of  helmsmen,  three 
the  duties  of  lookout,  and  the  rest  were  to  work  eight  hours 

'  Argiimonts  aj^ainst  tho  Kalashi  watch  system  arc  that  it  means  a 
minimum  of  men  on  duty  at  night.  In  case  of  emergency  tho  men  must 
xush  on  deck  with  tlieir  eyes  as  yet  unaccustomed  to  the  darkness.  Tho 
8yst(!m,  furthermore,  has  the  disadvantage  of  keeping  a  part  of  the 
Bailors,  the  diiy-workers,  continually  on  less  skilled  work,  and  thus 
hindering  that  all-around  development  of  skill  on  the  part  of  all  members 
of  the  crew  which  would  result  if  all  the  men  were  to  take  turns  at 
positions  connected  with  the  actual  navigation  of  the  vessel. 

*  The  Kalashi  wa1ch  system  had  already  become  common. 


TRANSPORTATION,  COMMUNICATION,  ETC.    185 

a  day.  During  favorable  weather  the  lookout  was  to  do  some 
deck  work  in  the  daytime. 

Largely  because  of  this  last  provision,  the  three-watch 
system  was  put  iuto  effect  without  change  in  total  manning. 
It  was  claimed  that  the  system,  except  on  the  smaller  ships, 
would  mean  no  increase  in  the  number  of  sailors.  The 
manning  schedules  for  Shipping  Board  vessels  did  require 
an  increase,  but  the  increase  was  much  less  than  50  per  cent. 
The  marine  superintendent  of  one  of  the  large  and  successful 
American  shipping  companies  reported  that  in  the  case  of 
this  company  no  increase  in  manning  resulted  from  changing 
to  three  watches,  but  there  was  less  work  done  while  at  sea 
and  more  left  to  be  done  when  in  port. 

The  mixed  system  of  three  watches  and  day  work  was 
one  of  the  terms  of  settlement  of  the  marine  strike  in  1919. 
The  men  lost  the  marine  strike  in  1921  and  one  of  the  results 
was  the  annulment  of  the  agreement  respecting  three 
watches.  The  company  referred  to  above  now  has  its  day 
men  on  nine  hours  instead  of  eight  and  the  two-watch  system 
is  reestablished  for  helmsman  and  lookout.  Although  the 
three-watch  system  had  not  increased  the  size  of  the  crew 
the  return  to  two  watches  and  nine-hour  day  work  reduced 
the  deck  crew  from  eleven  to  ten  men.  Although  the  total 
force  was  cut  by  one  man,  the  number  of  men  assigned  to 
upkeep  and  repair  work  was  increased  by  one.  This  fact, 
together  with  the  lengthening  of  the  work  day  from  eight 
to  nine  hours  increased  by  one-fourth  the  amount  of  labor 
available  for  repairs.  The  lengthening  of  hours  described 
applied  to  freight  ships.  At  the  time,  the  three-watch  system 
was  retained  on  passenger  ships,  but  of  late  there  has  been 
further  development  in  the  direction  of  two  watches. 

The  three-watch  system  was  never  established  for  sailors 
by  the  principal  carriers  on  the  Great  Lakes.  The  two- 
watch  system  haa  been  the  rule. 


186    THE  TWELVE-HOUR  SHIFT  IN  INDUSTRY 

Radio  operators  on  American  vessels  arc  on  a  two-watch 
system.  However,  the  radio  operator  does  not  have  a  great 
deal  to  do.     On  many  vessels  there  is  only  one  operator. 

The  changes  made  during  the  last  few  years  from  two  to 
three  watches  and  from  three  watches  back  to  two  have 
affected  only  a  few  men  aboard  any  one  ship.  Out  of  a  total 
crew  of  about  forty  sailors  only  six  were  atfected  by  the 
change  to  the  three-watch  system  and  four  by  the  return  to 
the  two-watch  system. 

The  tendency  on  the  seas  is  towards  three  watches.  Italy 
and  France  are  said  to  have  their  deck  departments  on  that 
basis,  and  England  has  been  tending  that  way.  Some  of  the 
American  union  leaders  are  not  eager  for  three  watches,  but 
the  sailors  strongly  favor  it. 

In  recent  years  there  has  been  little  difference  between 
the  manning  scales  on  American  and  foreign  vessels.  In 
some  cases  the  British  have  larger  crews.  Nor  do  American 
vessels  operate  under  a  handicap  in  the  matter  of  food  and 
wages.  The  food  on  many  European  vessels  will  compare 
favorably  with  that  on  American  vessels.  There  is  today 
very  little  difference  in  the  wages  of  unlicensed  men. 
Licensed  officers  receive  considerably  more  on  American 
vessels.  But  wages  usually  do  not  amount  to  10  per  cent,  of 
the  cost  of  operating  a  ship.  The  question  of  watches  is  after 
all  of  subordinate  importance.     The  needs  are : 

1.  The  development  of  skilled,  resourceful  management. 

2.  The  establishment  of  such  conditions  as  will  secure 

a  high  type  of  seamen. 

Longshoremen. 

The  loading  and  unloading  of  ships  can  be  profitably 
done  by  day  and  night.  It  is  advisable  to  use  both  day  and 
night  in  order  that  the  ships  may  quickly  start  on  the  return 


TRANSPORTATION,   CO^MMUNICATION,   ETC.     187 

journey.  But  continuous  loading  and  unloading  is  handi- 
capped by  excessive  wage  differentials  for  work  done  after 
5  p.  M.  and  before  7  a.  m.  Continuous  operation  is  further 
impaired  by  the  retention  of  a  very  inadequate  and  obsolete 
employment  system.  Men  are  reemployed  every  day,  some- 
times twice  a  day.  This  produces  either  a  surplus  or  a 
scarcity  of  labor  at  different  points.  It  increases  the  number 
of  men  needed  in  the  business.  Notwithstanding  these  con- 
ditions many  of  the  leading  steamship  companies  believe  that 
it  pays  to  load  continuously.  Irregular  and  long  hours  are 
followed  by  periods  of  no  work. 

Fishing. 

Fishing  vessels  work  unlimited  hours  during  the  fishing 
season.  This  is  inherent  in  the  nature  of  the  business  and 
cannot  be  easily  remedied. 

Steam  Railroads. 

In  a  sense  the  railroads  constitute  one  of  the  largest 
continuous-industries.  But  the  situation  is  different  in  so 
many  respects  from  ordinary  continuous-industries,  that  it 
is  better  to  think  of  them  simply  as  containing  elements  of 
continuous-operation. 

Trains  move  day  and  night  but  the  train  movement  is 
broken  up  into  runs.  The  equipment  may  be  operated  either 
more  or  less  than  twenty-four  hours.  The  hours  of  duty  of 
the  crews  may  be  equal  to  or  fractions  or  multiples  of  the 
train  runs,  having  no  necessary  relationship  to  twenty-four 
hours.*    Freight  train  crews  are  supposed  to  be  on  duty  ten 

*  Refprenco  is  made  here  not  to  the  law,  but  to  the  idea  with  repfard 
to  the  lenpth  of  riiua  in  tlu>  mind  of  railroad  managements  at  the  time 
of  the  laying  out  of  division  ])oints.  Subsequent  changes  in  conditions, 
Buch  as  the  lenfjthenintj  of  trains  have,  however,  so  affected  running 
time  as  to  lead  to  great  diversity  in  actual  houis  of  duty. 


188    THE  TWELVE-HOUR  SHIFT  IN  INDUSTRY 

hours,  but  because  of  delays,  they  may  be  on  duty  sixteen 
hours.  Twelve  hours  is  not  uncommon.  The  runs  of  crews 
on  passenger  trains  are  more  regular  and  shorter  as  regards 
time. 

The  Adamson  Act  made  the  nominal  hours  of  service 
eight,  but  there  was  a  physical  difficulty  in  making  the  actual 
hours  come  to  this  basis  as  the  distance  between  terminals 
had  been  designed  for  ten-hour  runs.  Little  has  been  done 
under  the  eight-hour  law  in  changing  the  hours  actually 
worked  by  train  service  employees,  except  that  since  the 
passage  of  the  Adamson  Act,  the  railroads  have  constantly 
endeavored  to  eliminate  delays  and  improve  service,  thus 
reducing  the  length  of  time  on  each  run. 

The  average  hours  of  duty  of  train  service  employees  of 
the  New  York  Central  Railroad  during  the  year  1920  were 
as  follows: 


Freight 
service 

Passenger 
service 

Engineers 

Conductors 

Trainmen 

3166  hours 
3200  hours 
3300  hours 

2500  hours 
2700  hours 
2400  hours 

The  average  is  under  ten  hours  per  day.  Counting  three 
hundred  days  to  a  year  (for  the  purpose  of  making  compar- 
ison with  other  industries),  men  on  freight  trains  worked 
the  equivalent  of  ten-and-a-half  to  eleven  hours  a  day ;  those 
on  passenger  trains  from  eight  to  nine  hours.  The  railroad 
managements  state  that  men  prefer  the  longer  runs,  which  of 
course,  bring  the  larger  pay.  The  managements  consulted 
thought  that  there  was  no  connection  between  the  length  of 
run  and  accidents. 


TRANSPORTATION,   COMMUNICATION,   ETC.     189 

The  really  continuous  work  of  a  railroad  is  the  mainte- 
nance of  the  railroad  equipment  and  service  by : 

Telegraphers 
Stationmen 
Switchmen 
Crossing  guards,  and 
Roundhouse  men. 

By  legal  enactment  telegraphers  who  handle  messages 
covering  the  movement  of  trains  have  been  on  eight-hour 
shifts  since  1907.  Dispatch  offices  and  signal  towers  are 
usually  operated  continuously  and  on  three  shifts. 

The  more  important  railroad  stations  are  open  twenty-four 
hours  a  day.  These  are  on  three  eight-hour  shifts.  Stations 
open  part  of  the  day,  if  the  period  is  long  enough  for  two 
shifts,  operate  on  two  eight-hour  shifts.  Small  stations  are 
served  by  one  man  which  necessitates  his  being  on  duty 
longer  than  eight  hours,  sometimes  twelve  hours.  A  twelve- 
hour  day,  however,  is  rare.  A  decision  of  the  Railroad  Labor 
Board,  January,  1922,  restored  the  nine-hour  day  for  rail- 
road clerks,  freight  handlers,  and  express  and  station  em- 
ployees. The  award  also  permitted  the  establishment  of  split 
tricks.  This  will  have  an  important  influence  on  hours  where 
the  station  is  open  for  less  than  twenty-four  hours. 

On  one  of  the  leading  East  and  West  lines  prior  to  1917 
switchmen  were  on  twelve-hour  shifts.  Since  that  date  they 
have  been  on  eight-hour  shifts.  According  to  the  manage- 
ment of  a  leading  western  road  the  yard  crews  of  that  road 
are  on  three  shifts  in  the  large  terminals.  Outlying  points 
sometimes  have  only  one  crew.  The  aim  is  to  confine  the 
hours  of  the  crew  to  eight ;  but  sometimes,  where  there  is  only 
one  crew  they  work  ten,  eleven,  or  twelve  hours. 

In  most  cases  crossing  men  were  on  twelve  hours,  but 
under  the  Railroad  Administration  they  were  put  on  eight- 


190    THE  TWELVE-HOUR  SHIFT  IN  INDUSTRY 

hour  shifts  and  have  remained  on  that  basis  except  in  a  few 
cases  where  they  are  on  nine  hours.  Some  crossings  are  not 
guarded  twenty-four  hours  and  some  not  a  multiple  of  eight 
hours.  In  such  cases,  and  in  cases  where  there  are  nine-hour 
shifts  the  men  are  changed  from  one  crossing  to  another. 
Occasionally  where  only  one  man  is  needed  during  the  day 
he  is  on  duty  ten  or  eleven  hours. 

Roundhouse  men  were  formerly  on  two  twelve-hour  or 
two  ten-hour  shifts.    They  are  now  on  three  eight-hour  shifts. 

The  change  from  twelve  to  eight  hours  for  switching 
gangs,  crossing  men,  roundhouse  men  and  other  classes  is  the 
result  of  legislation  or  administrative  rulings  effected  during 
the  last  five  years.  At  first,  with  these  as  with  the  trainmen, 
the  eight-hour  day  was  a  basis  used  in  determining  when 
overtime  should  begin.  But  in  time  the  railroads  proceeded 
vigorously  to  place  all  the  men  they  could  on  eight  hours  so 
as  to  escape  overtime  pay. 

The  change  from  a  basic  to  an  actual  eight-hour  day  has 
been  well  received  by  the  employees,  notwithstanding  the 
fact  that  it  meant  more  than  a  pro  rata  reduction  in  pay. 

As  to  the  management,  though  the  change  to  three  shifts 
did  not  in  itself  increase  expenses,  because  of  the  reduction  in 
the  earnings  of  employees,  yet  the  increase  in  wages  which 
occurred  in  the  same  general  period  focused  the  attention  of 
railroad  managers  on  the  desirability  of  dispensing  with  labor 
wherever  possible. 

Railway  shops  operate  one  eight-hour  shift.  During  busy 
seasons  two  eight-hour  shifts  are  employed.  In  periods  of 
great  demand  they  operate  on  three  eight-hour  shifts. 

Street  Railways^ 

The  work  of  conductors  and  motormen  on  street  railways 
is  not  continuous,  although  it  is  distributed  over  a  long  day. 
The  runs  for  an  individual  employee  range  from  eight  to 


TRANSPORTATION,  COMMUNICATION,  ETC.    191 

eleven-and-a-half  hours  in  length,  averaging  not  much  more 
than  nine  hours.  This  is  true  even  in  those  sections  of  the 
country  where  the  twelve-hour  day  is  common.  In  case  of 
split  runs,  there  is  usually  a  maximum  spread  which  is  not 
apt  to  be  over  fourteen  hours. 

COMMUNICATION 

Telegraph  Compamies. 

The  telegraph  industry  offers  no  example  of  long  hours, 
unless  it  might  be  in  some  subordinate  branches  of  the  service, 
or  the  special  telegraphic  services  maintained  by  private  busi- 
ness organizations. 

The  Western  Union  land  lines  and  cable  system  employ 
about  52,000  men  and  women,  the  men  constituting  70  per 
cent,  of  the  total  force.  In  May,  1917,  the  Western  Union 
land  lines  changed  from  a  system  under  which  the  night 
tricks  had  been  seven-and-a-half  hours  and  the  day  tricks  nine 
hours  to  an  eight-hour  day.  Not  all  of  its  operators  change 
shifts  at  the  same  hour.  They  are  taken  on  and  off  at  such 
hours  as  will  correlate  the  number  of  operators  with  the 
demand  for  telegraph  service.  In  a  few  cases  employees  work 
on  split  tricks. 

The  Western  Union  cable  service  also  observes  the  eight- 
hour  day.  In  the  smaller  land  line  offices,  where  the  work  is 
usually  performed  by  one  operator,  the  tour  of  duty  may  be 
as  long  as  ten  hours.  In  such  cases  the  work  of  the  operator 
consists  chiefly  in  "readiness  to  serve"  as  the  work  of  the 
entire  day  can  be  done  within  an  hour  of  steady  application. 
As  the  time  required  to  go  to  and  from  work  is  usually  very 
short  in  the  small  towns,  the  longer  hours  of  duty  do  not  give 
the  employee  any  less  time  at  home  than  in  the  case  of  the 
city  worker. 

The  management  believes  that  the  eight-hour  shift  has 


192    THE  TWELVE-HOUR  SHIFT  IN  INDUSTRY 

been  advantageous  both  to  the  company  and  to  the  employees. 
Overtime  and  Sunday  work  are  kept  at  a  minimum,  as  unde- 
sirable from  every  point  of  view.  The  company  has  provided 
recreation  rooms  for  its  women  employees,  thus  enabling 
them  to  use  their  leisure  hours  to  advantage. 

Telephotw  Companies. 

The  Bell  Telephone  system  has  no  long  shifts.  As  in 
the  case  of  the  Western  Union,  its  operators  do  not  all 
change  shifts  at  the  same  hours,  but  are  taken  on  and  off  at 
such  hours  as  will  correlate  the  number  of  operators  with  the 
demand  for  telephone  service.  The  force  after  midnight  is 
about  7  or  8  per  cent,  of  the  total. 

The  usual  arrangement  is  for  an  operator  to  serve  from 
seven  to  eight  hours  per  shift.  In  case  of  split  tricks  the 
trick  is  so  divided  as  to  give  the  operator  sufficient  time  off 
to  be  of  use  to  him.  The  night  shift  is  on  the  exchange  from 
10  in  the  evening  (9  p.  m.  in  some  cities)  until  7  in  the  morn- 
ing. But  each  operator  has  a  one-  or  two-hour  lunch  period 
part  of  which  many  operators  use  for  naps.  An  object  in 
arranging  the  night  work  in  this  manner  is  to  make  it  un- 
necessary for  operators  to  go  to  and  from  work  late  at  night. 

Of  the  220,000  regular  employees  of  the  Bell  system, 
133,000  are  in  the  traffic  department  and  G0,000  in  the  plant 
department.  Of  the  traffic  employees  116,000  are  female 
operating  employees  in  the  central  offices. 

The  employees  in  the  plant  department  of  the  Bell  system 
are  engaged  in  both  construction  and  maintenance  work.  The 
men  who  are  employed  outside  of  the  central  office  exchanges 
are  on  regular  day  time  assignments,  except  in  emergencies 
(storms,  etc.).  The  maintenance  of  the  central  offices  involves 
some  continuous  service,  but  the  number  of  men  employed 
at  night  is  relatively  small.  Employment  beyond  the  regular 
day  shifts  is  for  the  most  part  in  late  evening  shifts  which 


TRANSPORTATION,   COMMUNICATION,   ETC.     193 

end  before  midnight.  From  midnight  until  the  morning 
shift  the  number  of  plant  employees  on  duty  is  practically 
negligible  (only  caretakers  and  in  the  large  exchanges  a  few 
held  for  emergency).  Central  office  men  are  in  practically 
all  cases  on  eight-hour  shifts,  coming  and  going  at  such  hours 
as  will  best  take  care  of  the  peak  loads. 

The  practice  described  for  the  traffic  and  maintenance 
divisions  is  followed  in  both  the  large  and  small  exchanges 
of  the  Bell  system  in  all  parts  of  the  country.  Among  the 
"independents"  who  have  a  proportionately  greater  number 
of  rural  lines,  there  may  be  exchanges  which  work  longer 
hours.  That  long  hours  have  existed  is  indicated  by  the  fact 
that  of  three  hundred  and  forty  telegraph  and  telephone  com- 
panies which  reported  to  the  Ohio  Industrial  Commission  in 
1915,  fourteen  reported  a  working  week  of  seventy-two  hours 
or  over.  By  1919  this  number  had  been  reduced  to  one  com- 
pany out  of  three  hundred  and  sixty. 

The  Postal  Service. 

The  mail  carrier  works  by  day  only.  In  the  evening  there 
is  a  small  force  of  collectors  (often  substitutes  or  auxiliaries 
who  do  not  come  under  the  law  regulating  the  hours  of  post 
office  employees),  but  they  are  usually  on  duty  for  only  a 
few  hours. 

The  distribution  of  the  mails  in  city  offices  is  a  continuous 
operation.  In  1921,  there  were  in  the  United  States  about 
54,000  post-office  clerks  of  whom  approximately  three-fourths 
were  engaged  in  the  distribution  of  mail.  The  eight-hour 
law  of  1912  limits  the  hours  of  a  post-office  clerk  to  eight 
with  a  maximum  spread  of  ten  hours.  The  shifts  of  the 
clerks  are  so  arranged  that  there  is  more  or  less  overlapping 
at  certain  hours.  The  shifts  do  not  rotate,  except  in  a  few 
offices  where  there  is  a  local  custom  to  that  effect. 

Most  of  the  distributing  clerks  in  a  eit}-    office    change 


194    THE  TWELVE-HOUR  SHIFT  IN  INDUSTRY 

shifts  at  approximately  midniglit,  8  a.  m.  and  4  p.  m.  As 
the  heaviest  work  is  between  5  and  9  p.  m.  the  largest  num- 
ber of  clerks  is  on  duty  at  that  time.  Out  of  two  hundred 
clerks,  it  would  be  found  that : 

1.  From  110  to  125  clerks  are  on  duty  from  4  Pr  m.  to 

midnight, 

2.  From  18  to  20  clerks  on  duty  from  midnight  to  8  a.  m. 

3.  From  65  to  70  clerks  on  duty  from  8  a.  m.  to  4  p.  m. 

In  addition  to  the  regular  distributing  clerks  a  force  of 
auxiliary  workers  often  works  four  hours  during  the  evening. 
These  men  may  be  employed  elsewhere  during  the  day. 
Sometimes  they  are  men  who  have  not  yet  been  admitted  to 
the  civil  service.'  They  give  flexibility  to  the  force  and  take 
care  of  the  evening  peak  load. 

The  motor  vehicle  corps  is  bound  by  the  rule  of  eight 
hours  within  ten.  The  arrangement  of  hours  varies  with 
the  locality. 

Although  before  1912  no  law  regulated  the  hours  of  post- 
office  employees,  the  working  time  was  usually  about  eight 
hours.  An  employee  of  more  than  twenty  years'  experience 
in  the  service  did  not  know  of  a  time  when  there  had  been 
twelve-hour  shifts. 

The  railway  mail  service  maintains  in  cities  terminal 
railway  post  offices  which  are  distinct  from  the  city  offices, 
and  where  the  work  is  more  evenly  continuous  throughout 
the  day  and  night.  The  terminal  railway  post-office  clerks, 
about  3,000  in  number,  fall  roughly  into  three  groups.  They 
work  respectively  between  midnight  and  8  a.  m.  ;  between 
8  A.  M.  and  4  p.  m.  ;  and  4  p.  m.  and  midnight. 

'This  is  true  only  when  thore  are  no  eligibles  on  the  civiJ  service 
Topnstor.  When  available,  all  auxiliaries  or  substitutes  must  be  employed 
from  the  civil  service  eligible  list. 


TRANSPORTATION,  COMMUNICATION,  ETC.     195 

The  men  who  transfer  the  mails  from  place  to  place  are 
on  the  same  shift  basis  as  are  the  mail  clerks. 

There  are  about  14,000  or  15,000  railway  mail  clerks  who 
sort  mail  on  the  trains.  The  hours  of  these  men  are  not  fixed 
by  law,  except  that  they  must  not  work  more  than  the  equiva- 
lent of  three  hundred  and  six  days  of  eight  hours  each  per 
year,  including,  as  noted  below,  the  time  necessary  for  study. 

The  working  hours  are  arranged  on  many  different  plans, 
in  accordance  with  train  schedules  and  length  of  trips.  In 
general,  each  clerk  works  for  about  a  week,  during  which  he 
is  on  the  road  most  of  the  time.  He  is  then  off  for  perhaps 
a  week.  The  total  time  of  a  one-way  trip  is  apt  to  be  ten  or 
twelve  hours.  It  may  be  as  much  as  fourteen  or  sixteen  hours. 
The  clerk  has  considerable  studying  to  do,  which  can  be  done 
between  tours  or  on  his  run,  between  towns,  and  for  which  he 
is  given  credit. 

If  the  route  and  train  schedules  are  such  that  the  mail 
clerk  can  repeat  his  first  day's  trip  on  the  third  and  again 
on  the  fifth  day,  and  his  second  day's  return  trip  on  the 
fourth  and  again  on  the  sixth  day,  then  two  crews  working 
simultaneously  can  man  the  route.  As  two  other  crews  would 
be  required  during  the  week  the  first  two  crews  are  off,  this 
would  make  a  four-crew  route.  Routes  vary  so  much  that 
there  are  also  five-crew  and  three-crew  routes.  There  are 
even  two-crew  and  single-crew  routes,  as  well  as  those  requir- 
ing six  and  even  seven  crews.  In  former  times  there  were 
some  nine-crew  routes. 

The  Express  Service. 

The  American  Railway  Express  Company  has  about 
115,000  employees,  most  of  them  on  day-work.  The  collec- 
tion of  express  stops  at  5  p.  i\r.  and  oflfices  close  at  6  p.  m. 

At  large  terminals  the  work  is  continuous  throughout  the 
twenty-four  hours.     In  December  of  1921  these  employees 


196    THE  TWELVE-HOUR  SHIFT  IN  INDUSTRY 

were  on  an  eiglit-bour  day.  Prior  to  the  War  they  had  been 
on  nine  or  ten  hours,  but  first,  overtime  was  established  for 
work  over  eight  hours,  and  then  the  eight-hour  day  was  in- 
stalled in  most  cases.  The  volume  of  work  at  the  terminals 
is  less  at  night  than  in  the  daytime.  The  men  come  on 
at  various  hours  of  the  day,  the  arrangement  of  hours  varying 
according  to  the  train  schedules. 

There  is  no  doubt  in  the  minds  of  either  men  or  manage- 
ment but  that  express  employees  like  an  eight-hour  day. 

The  express  companies  have  messengers  who  travel  on 
the  trains.  Their  hours  are  arranged  somewhat  like  those  of 
the  regular  train  crews,  or  of  the  railway  mail  clerks. 

CARE-TAKING 
Police  Department. 

The  policing  of  our  cities  is  among  the  largest  of  the 
continuous-industries  or  activities.  New  York  City  has 
11,000  men  on  its  police  force.  Of  this  number  9,000  are 
on  service  that  is  continuous  throughout  the  twenty-four 
hours. 

Some  years  ago,  police  departments  in  American  cities 
were  generally  on  the  two-platoon  system.  This  involved 
twelve-hour  shifts  in  some  of  the  cities,  but  it  did  not  result  in 
an  average  daily  service  of  twelve  hours.  By  having  a  re- 
duced force  a  part  of  the  day,  the  average  number  of  hours 
of  service  of  the  individual  policeman  was  below  twelve 
hours.  In  Richmond,  Virginia,  the  day  was  divided  into  four 
six-hour  periods,  two  at  night  and  two  in  the  daytime.  Each 
policeman  served  one  six-hour  shift  every  night.  The  day 
shifts  were  provided  for  by  having  that  one-half  of  the  men 
who  had  been  on  the  first  night  shift  divided  into  two  divi- 
sions each  of  which  served  six  hours  during  the  day.  By  this 
arrangement  just  one-half  as  many  men  were  on  duty  during 
the  day  as  during  the  night.    The  plan  made  it  possible  for 


TRANSPORTATION,  COMMUNICATION,  ETC.    197 

each  policeman  to  be  off  duty  every  other  day,  though  always 
serving  half  of  the  night. 

One  of  the  chief  objections  to  the  two-platoon  system  as 
worked  in  Richmond  was  that  those  men  who  had  been  on 
duty  the  six  hours  from  7  p.  m.  to  1  a.  m.,  and  were  in  the 
half  that  had  to  serve  the  next  day  from  7  a.  m.  to  1  p.  m.  had 
only  six  hours  off.  If  they  were  delayed  in  making  reports 
and  getting  home,  they  had  only  a  short  interval  for  rest  in  a 
period  of  patrol  service  extending  practically  over  eighteen 
hours. 

This  same  system  of  six-hour  shifts  with  every  other  day 
off  during  the  daytime,  was  formerly  used  in  New  York  City, 
except  that  the  hours  of  changing  squads  were  6  p.  m.^  mid- 
night, 6  A.  M.  and  noon. 

The  two-platoon  system  has  been  abandoned  in  all  the 
cities  concerning  which  inquiries  were  made.  In  some  cities, 
an  effort  is  still  made  to  enlarge  the  police  force  during  cer- 
tain hours  of  the  day,  but  this  is  usually  accomplished  by 
having  three  nine-hour  or  three  ten-hour  shifts,  so  arranged 
that  the  overlap  comes  when  the  extra  protection  is  desired. 
Thus  Pittsburgh  is  on  a  three  nine-hour  platoon  system  with 
two  platoons  on  duty  between  9  and  12  p.  m.  In  New  York 
the  number  of  officers  on  patrol  duty  is  now  constant  through- 
out the  twenty-four  hours.  The  patrols  change  at  midnight, 
8  A.  M.  and  4  p.  M; 

New  York  operates  under  a  ten-squad  system,  as  shown 
by  Table  12.  The  purpose  in  having  ten  squads,  instead  of 
nine,  is  to  provide  one  day  off  in  seven  for  the  patrolmen. 
Under  this  system  one  of  the  ten  squads  is  always  taking  an 
extra  sixteen  hours  off.  Of  the  nine  squads  not  having  a  day 
off,  three  are  always  on  duty  simultaneously.  Each  day  one 
of  the  three  squads  takes  only  four  hours  off  and  then  reports 
for  eight  hours  resen^e  duty,  after  which  the  men  hnve  four 
hours  off  before  returning  to  patrol  duty.     Each  squad  thus 


198    THE  TWELVE-HOUR  SHIFT  IN  INDUSTRY 

loses  half  its  time  off  once  every  three  days;  but  at  such 
times,  the  men  are  held  on  reserve  at  the  station  house  and, 
except  in  emergencies,  may  sleep.  During  a  vs^eek  each 
patrolman  works  six  eight-hour  shifts  on  patrol  duty,  and  is 
on  reserve  duty  two  eight-hour  shifts.  After  six  days  of 
service  the  patrolman  is  off  a  total  of  thirty-two  hours.  There 
is  always  one  squad  on  reserve  duty. 

The  police  authorities  consulted  have  been  unanimous  in 
their  judgment  that  the  eight-hour  shift  for  patrolmen  is 
better  than  the  longer  hours  formerly  worked.  The  Richmond 
authorities  state  that  it  works  "one  hundred  per  cent."  better. 
It  is  the  belief  of  the  New  York  authorities  that  the  two- 
platoon  system  with  the  daylight  hours  off  every  other  day  is 
not  right  for  the  men.  Police  authorities  place  a  low  value 
on  a  patrolman  who  serves  much  more  than  eight  hours  a  day. 

This  does  not  mean  that  the  authorities  necessarily  favor 
an  eight-hour  day  for  men  who  are  not  on  shift  duty.  The 
traffic  men  in  New  York  are  on  duty  nine  hours  with  an 
hour  off  during  the  day.  Detectives  usually  work  more  than 
eight  hours  per  day. 

The  twelve-hour  day  is  to  be  found  in  the  auxiliary  serv- 
ice of  some  police  departments.  The  park  police  in  a  Dela- 
ware city  are  on  twelve-hour  shifts. 

Fire  Department. 

Fire  departments  formerly  operated  without  any  change 
of  personnel  except  for  a  day  off  now  and  then  and  a  few 
hours  off  for  meals.  Now  they  generally  operate  on  the  two- 
platoon  system.  The  squad  off  duty  is  expected  in  case  of 
fire  to  report  so  that  they  will  be  available  in  case  of  a  second 
alarm.  Under  the  two-platoon  system  the  men  take  their 
meals  on  their  o^vn  time,  which  eliminates  a  reduction  of 
the  force  at  such  periods. 


TRANSPORTATION,  COMMUNICATION,  ETC.     199 


200    THE  TWELVE-HOUR  SHIFT  IN  INDUSTRY 

If  full  protection  is  to  be  given,  it  is  necessary  to  have 
larger  crews  under  a  two-platoon  system  than  under  the 
twenty-four  hour  system.  Richmond  added  forty-two  fire- 
men (which  made  the  new  force  consist  of  three  hundred  and 
twelve  men)  when  it  changed  to  two  platoons  in  November, 
1921.  Formerly  the  men  had  one  day  off  in  three.  Out  of 
an  engine  company  of  twelve  men,  four  would  always  be  off. 
Of  the  other  eight,  one  or  two  would  perhaps  be  off  for  a 
meal,  leaving  six  or  seven  at  the  fire  stations.  In  adopting 
the  two-platoon  system  it  was  only  necessary  to  increase  an 
engine  crew  of  twelve  to  fourteen  to  insure  seven  men  always 
being  present. 

Under  the  two-platoon  system  the  day  shift  is  usually 
shorter  than  the  night  shift.  In  New  York  the  day  men  serve 
nine  hours  and  the  night  men  fifteen  hours.  In  some  other 
cities  there  is  not  so  great  a  difference  in  the  length  of  the 
shifts. 

Some  fire  departments  are  run  on  a  system  of  twenty-four 
hours  on  and  twenty-four  hours  off.  This  is  sometimes  popu- 
lar with  the  men,  as  it  enables  them  to  work  elsewhere  during 
their  twenty-four  hours  off. 

Cleveland  for  a  time  operated  on  a  three-platoon  system. 
In  April,  1921,  it  changed  back  to  two  platoons,  under  a  sys- 
tem of  twenty-four  hours  on  and  twenty-four  hours  off. 

Watchmen. 

Watchmen,  as  a  rule,  are  on  twelve-hour  shifts.  This  is 
true  of  three-shift  plants  as  well  as  of  two-shift  plants. 

Some  companies  have  put  their  watchmen  as  well  as  all 
other  employees  on  three  shifts.  Some  of  these  have  been 
noted.  The  New  York  Shipbuilding  Company  saw  no  rea- 
son for  its  one  hundred  and  eighty  watchmen  working  twelve- 
hour  shifts  when  everyone  else  in  its  plant  was  on  eight  hours. 
Ford's  watchmen  are  on  eight  hours.     When  the  Washburn 


TRANSPORTATION,   COMMUNICATION,   ETC.    201 

Crosby  Company  changed  its  watchmen  to  eight-hour  shifts 
they  realized  a  more  effective  service.  The  shortening  of 
shifts  was  regarded  as  an  important  factor  that  contributed 
to  the  improvement.  An  officer  of  this  company  held  that  a 
more  vigorous  type  of  man  should  be  drawn  into  watch  duty, 
younger  men  who  would  be  able  to  cope  with  marauders. 

The  superintendent  of  a  Philadelphia  plant,  whose 
watchmen  were  on  twelve-hour  shifts,  thought  it  was  a  mis- 
take. He  held  that  watchmen  perform  as  important  a  serv- 
ice as  other  employees. 

An  experienced  fire  insurance  man  In  New  York  did  not 
regard  the  twelve-hour  watchman  as  a  cause  of  increased  fire 
risk.  The  insurance  rules  all  contemplate  twelve-hour  shifts. 
Police  officers,  on  the  other  hand,  take  quite  a  different  view. 
They  do  not  think  that  watchmen  any  more  than  policemen 
are  going  to  be  efficient  on  twelve-hour  turns. 


MISCELLANEOUS  SEEVICE 

Hotels. 

In  the  large  and  moderate  sized  hotels  the  hours  of  the 
employees  are  usually  reasonable.  The  day  force  works  ten 
hours  or  less. 

The  service  of  bellboys,  elevator  men,  and  hotel  clerks 
must  extend  over  a  longer  period.  A  frequently  used  device 
is  a  long  day  and  a  short  day.  That  is  one  day  the  working 
hours  are  from  7  to  12  in  the  morning,  iind  from  6  to  11  in 
Iho  evening,  or  ten  hours  altogether,  and  the  next  day  from 
noon  to  6  p.  m.  or  six  hours. 

The  regular  hours  of  waiters  and  others  connected  with 
the  dining-room  service  in  New  York  hotels  are  reasonable. 
But  it  is  said  that  there  is  a  good  deal  of  overtime  because  of 
banquets  which  often  necessitate  long  hours.  There  is  no 
adequate  provision  for  days  off. 


202    THE  TWELVE-HOUR  SHIFT  IN  INDUSTRY 

Engineers  and  firemen  in  hotels  work  on  from  eight-hour 
to  ten-hour  shifts. 

In  small  hotels,  the  situation  is  quite  different.  The 
investigation  disclosed  various  small  hotels  where  those  in 
charge  worked  twelve-hour  shifts.  In  1919,  about  10  per 
cent,  of  the  three  hundred  hotels  in  Ohio  reported  that  the 
full-time  working  week  for  their  employees  was  seventy-two 
hours  or  over.  In  1913,  the  union  rules  for  hotel  waiters  in 
New  York  State  called  for  twelve  hours. 


Hospitals. 

Hospital  work  involves  continuous  service.  In  1913,  the 
union  rules  for  Buffalo  hospital  employees  specified  eighty- 
four  hours  a  week.  A  report  made  in  1921  by  a  hospital  in 
Buffalo  showed  that  nine-tenths  of  the  employees  were  on 
two  shifts.  The  other  one-tenth,  consisting  of  boiler  and 
engine  room  labor,  changed  to  three  shifts  during  the  War. 
Hospitals  in  other  cities  concerning  which  information  was 
received  were  on  twelve-hour  shifts.  However  no  special 
study  has  been  made  of  hospitals. 

Stables  and  Garages. 

The  care  of  horses  has  been  the  occasion  for  a  consider- 
able amount  of  twelve-hour  shift-work.  Ten  per  cent,  of  the 
Ohio  companies  engaged  in  "cartage  (drayage)  and  storage, 
including  livery  stables"  in  1915  reported  a  working  week  of 
seventy-two  hours  or  over.  In  1919,  the  proportion  was  four- 
teen companies  out  of  three  hundred  and  thirty-one.  Stable- 
men for  bakeries  and  other  concerns  engaged  in  retail  de- 
livery have  often  been  on  twelve-hour  shifts.  Statistics  indi- 
cate that  there  is  a  certain  amount  of  twelve-hour  work  about 
garages. 


TRANSPORTATION,  COMMUNICATION,  ETC.    203 

Delivery  Men,  CJuiuffeurs. 

In  Buffalo  in  1913  the  union  rules  for  ice  drivers,  bag- 
gage transfer  men,  and  chauffeurs  called  for  a  twelve-hour 
day. 

Restaurants. 

The  hours  of  labor  in  most  of  the  restaurants  are  short, 
because  of  the  employment  of  women  in  large  numbers,  and 
the  fact  that  the  number  of  hours  per  day  that  women  may 
work  is  in  many  states  limited  by  law.  However,  in  the  typi- 
cal restaurant  long  hours  are  not  necessary.  By  arranging 
split  tricks  or  shifts  the  day  can  easily  be  divided  into  work 
periods  of  moderate  length. 

In  small  restaurants  open  late  at  night,  the  employees 
are  often  on  duty  twelve  hours.  In  Ohio,  forty-seven  of  the 
one  hundred  and  forty-eight  restaurants  reporting  in  1915 
gave  their  working  week  as  seventy-two  hours  or  over.  In 
1919,  there  were  fifty-two  out  of  a  total  of  four  hundred  and 
seven.  In  many  of  these  restaurants  the  seven-day  week  is 
associated  with  the  twelve-hour  day. 

Retail  Stores. 

There  are  types  of  retail  stores,  as  drug  stores,  soda  foun- 
tains, and  small  shops  which  are  open  for  twenty-four  hours, 
or  until  late  at  night.  There  is  less  standardization  of  hours 
in  this  group  than  in  any  of  the  industries  investigated.  It 
would  require  a  very  detailed  investigation  to  determine  the 
proportion  of  employees  on  long  and  on  short  shifts.  How- 
ever, it  is  known  that  one  or  more  of  the  men  in  these  stores 
often  work  eleven  or  twelve  hours  per  day,  or  even  longer. 

In  1915,  out  of  2,459  Ohio  stores  reporting  to  the  Indus- 
trial Commission  as  to  the  hours  of  work  per  week,  one  hun- 
dred and  thirteen  reported  a  working  week  of  seventy-two 


204    THE  TWELVE-HOUR  SHIFT  IN  INDUSTRY 

hours  or  over.  In  1919  seventy  stores  out  of  4,268  reported 
a  seventy-two-hour  week.  The  very  small  stores  (employing 
less  than  five  persons)  do  not  report. 

The  1913  rules  for  Buffalo  unions  specified  a  twelve- 
hour  day  for  grocery  store  employees,  meat  cutters,  and  cloth- 
ing salesmen. 

Other  Service. 

Statistics  indicate  that  there  is  some  twelve-hour  work 
among  the  employees  of  theaters,  amusement  parks,  bowling 
alleys,  barber  shops,  and  undertaking  establishments. 


CHAPTER  XIV 

PROCEDURE  m  CHANGING  FROM  TWO  SHIFTS 
TO   THREE 

Points  to  Be  Observed. 

The  method  followed  in  changing  from  two  to  three-shift 
operation  is  of  the  utmost  importance.  One  of  the  outstand- 
ing facts  developed  by  this  survey  has  been  the  wide  varia- 
tion in  the  results  that  have  followed  the  change  from  two 
to  three  shifts.  This  variation  is  more  largely  due  to  the 
methods  followed  than  to  other  circumstances.^ 

If  greater  efficiency  is  to  result  from  changing  from  two 
to  three-shift  operation  several  cardinal  points  must  be  ob- 
served.   They  are: 

1.  Whether  the  men  do  more  work  per  hour  on  an  eight- 

hour  shift  than  on  a  twelve-hour  shift  depends  upon 
how  they  feel  about  the  change.  How  they  feel 
about  it  depends  in  considerable  part  upon  the  man- 
agement's viewing  things  from  the  employees' 
standpoint  and  showing  them  how  they  will  benefit 
by  increasing  their  efficiency  in  return  for  shorter 
hours. 

2.  The  management  must  plan  so  that  the  employees  will 

have  an  opportunity  to  perform  more  and  better 
service  on  the  shorter  shift.     This  involves  setting 

*  This  sub.iect  is  fully  discussed  in  a  separate  monograph  prepared 
by  the  present  investigator  entitled  '  "Die  Tei-hnique  of  Changing  from 
the  Two-shift  to  the  Three-shift  system  in  the  Steel  Industry"  proof 
sheets  for  which  were  issued  in  1922  hy  the  Cabot  Fund  Trustees.  See 
also  Mr.  Bradley  Stoughton  's  report  in  Part  III  of  this  volume. 

205 


306    THE  TWELVE-HOUR  SHIFT  IN  INDUSTRY 

definite  schedules  of  work  for  each  day;  the  estab- 
lishment of  high  standards  of  performance  for  eight 
hours'  work;  the  standardization  of  equipment  and 
its  maintenance ;  in  short  a  close  production  control. 
These  things  done  and  cooperation  obtained,  favor- 
able results  are  sure  to  follow. 

3.  The  establishment  of  a  permanent  differential  of  50 

per  cent,  or  thereabouts  between  the  wages  of  shift- 
and  of  day-workers  should  be  guarded  against.  Per- 
haps the  most  serious  difficulty  in  changing  from 
two  to  three  shifts  is  the  severity  of  the  shock  that 
it  may  give  to  individual  incomes,  or,  if  this  is 
avoided,  the  increase  in  labor  costs  that  may  follow. 
It  is  only  fair  to  make  an  adjustment  in  the  wages 
of  the  twelve-hour  shift-workers,  but  it  should  be 
done  in  such  a  way  as  not  to  establish  a  permanent 
vested  interest  in  favor  of  one  class  of  employees. 

4.  The  time  at  which  the  change  is  to  be  made,  and  the 

method  used  as  related  to  the  special  circumstances 
prevailing  at  the  time  are  important  factors. 

tt.  When  the  general  level  of  wages  is  advancing  is  an 
opportune  time  to  change  from  a  two-  to  a  three- 
shift  system,  for  then  the  shortening  of  hours  can 
be  made  in  lieu  of  wage  advances.  It  may  be  pos- 
sible to  give  the  men  as  much  for  eight  as  for  twelve 
hours'  work,  a  part  of  this  taking  the  place  of  a 
wage  increase. 

h.  If  the  period  is  one  of  reduced  employment,  moro 
men  may  be  employed  for  shorter  hours,  or  the  same 
men  given  steadier  employment  for  shorter  hours. 
Thus  the  eight-hour  shift  may  be  attained  without 
much  cost,  and  without  the  men  suffering  more  than 
they  would  have  to  any  way,  because  of  periods  of 
unemployment. 


PROCEDURE  IN  CHANGING  207 

c.  If  the  period  is  one  of  stable  wages  and  employ- 
ment, then  the  practicable  thing  to  do  is  to  make  an 
effort  to  secure  greater  efficiency,  and  out  of  in- 
creased profits  pay  the  men  enough  more  per  hour 
to  make  the  change  to  shorter  shifts  an  easy  and 
satisfactory  one. 

In  some  plants  or  operations  the  efficiency  has  been  high 
on  the  twelve-hour  shift  and  sometimes  it  is  difficult  to  intro- 
duce high  standards  for  the  eight-hour  shift,  but  a  faithful 
observance  of  the  factors  mentioned  will  mean  substantial  in- 
crease in  efficiency.  If  they  are  not  observed  the  results  will 
be  disappointing. 

Hours  for  Day-WorJcers  Associated  with  Shift-Workers. 

This  investigation  has  had  to  do  with  the  twelve-hour 
versus  the  eight-hour  shift  and  not  the  nine-  or  ten-hour  versus 
the  eight-hour  day.  However,  the  question  may  arise  as  to 
whether  day-workers  should  be  on  an  eight-hour  day  in  line 
with  the  shift-workers,  or  on  a  nine-  or  ten-hour  day.  The  in- 
vestigation has  shown  that  there  is  no  difficulty  in  maintain- 
ing day-workers  on  nine  or  ten  hours  and  shift-workers  on 
eight  hours,  unless  there  is  an  objection  to  a  nine-  or  ten-hour 
day  in  itself.  The  fact  that  shift-workers  have  been  placed 
on  eight  hours  does  not  of  itself  necessitate  putting  the  day- 
workers  on  eight  hours. 

The  Seven-Day  Week. 

On  continuous  work  that  must  be  maintained  seven  days 
a  week  the  question  arises  as  to  whether  three-shift  workers 
should  be  relieved  one  day  per  week.  When  the  length  of 
the  shift  is  eight  hours  the  shift-workers  have  a  shorter  day 
than  eight-hour  day  workers,  since  they  take  at  least  one  meal 
period  within  their  eight  hours  of  duty.  The  system  of  rotat- 
ing shifts  is  usually  so  arranged  as  to  lengthen  hours  at  some 


208    THE  TWELVE-HOUR  SHIFT  IN  INDUSTRY 

week  ends,  and  give  the  men  longer  time  off  at  other  week 
ends.  By  this  means  shift-workers  are  practically  off  duty 
one  or  two  Sundays  in  three.  Therefore,  good  argument  can 
be  advanced  against  introducing  a  six-day  week  on  shift- 
work. As  a  rule  the  day  off  could  not  be  on  Sunday  but 
on  some  week  day.  Many  would  prefer  to  work  on  the  week 
day. 

However,  many  of  the  continuous-industries  are  providing 
one  day  off  in  seven,  although  the  men  are  on  an  eight-hour 
shift.  xVs  a  rule  the  arrangement  gives  satisfaction.  The 
companies  are  pleased  with  it.  One  of  the  steel  companies, 
which  is  on  two  shifts  but  a  six-day  week,  has  found  that  its 
men  have  so  adapted  their  habits  to  having  a  week-day  off, 
that  they  now  prefer  a  week-day  to  Sunday. 

On  the  other  hand,  another  steel  company,  when  it 
changed  from  two  to  three  shifts,  at  the  request  of  its  em- 
ployees, adopted  a  seven-day  week.  Previously  its  practice 
was  a  six-day  week. 

Rotation  of  Shifts. 

Many  plants  rotate  shifts  every  week.  Some  believe  fhat 
it  would  be  better  if  the  shifts  were  rotated  every  two  weeks 
or  a  month,  as  the  habits  of  the  men  would  not  be  changed 
80  often.  Those  plants  that  employ  women  extensively  do 
not  rotate  shifts. 

An  advantage  of  the  three-shift  system  on  seven-day  work 
is  that  it  obviates  the  necessity  of  a  twenty-four  hour  turn  or 
two  eighteen-hour  turns  when  shifts  rotate.  Sometimes  under 
the  three-shift  system  one  of  the  squads  of  men  works  a  six- 
teen-hour  turn.  But  there  is  no  need  of  this.  Tt  is  preferable 
to  have  part  of  the  men  report  after  an  absence  of  only  eight 
hours  and  serve  a  second  eight-hour  shift,  rather  than  to  have 
a  sixteen-hour  turn.  There  are  innumerable  arrnngementg 
which  are  possible,  as  two  twelve-hour  shifts,  or  even  three 
turns  of  ten  and  two-thirds  hours  each. 


CHAPTER   Xy 

CONCLUSIONS 

This  concluding  chapter  is  a  smnmarj  discussion  based 
upon  the  entire  investigation.  It  presents  through  a  series 
of  questions  and  answers  the  problem  of  the  twelve-hour  shift 
in  American  industry. 

1.  What  is  the  extent  of  continuous  work  in  American 

industry  ? 

There  are  upwards  of  forty  continuous-industries  operat- 
ing more  or  less  completely  upon  a  shift-system.  They  em- 
ploy between  500,000  and  1,000,000  wage-earners  on  shift- 
work. Their  families  constitute  from  1,500,000  to  3,000,000 
persons  who  are  dependent  upon  earnings  from  shift-work. 

There  have  been  (prior  to  the  late  depression)  probably 
300,000  wage  earners  working  on  twelve-hour  shifts.  They 
and  their  families  number  more  than  1,200,000  persons. 

2.  What  are  the  alternatives  to  the  twelve-hour  shift  ? 

The  logical  alternative  to  the  two  twelve-hour  shift-system 
is  the  three  eight-hour  shift-system,  and  this  is  the  usual 
procedure.  Nevertheless  other  shift-systems  have  been  re- 
sorted to  in  a  limited  way  in  changing  from  the  twelve-hour 
shift.    Among  these  are: 

a.  Operation  for  a  period    shorter   than   twenty-four 
hours  in  each  calendar  day,  the  cessation  of  work 
209 


210    THE  TWELVE-HOUR  SHIFT  IN  INDUSTRY 

for  from  two  to  four  hours  permitting  the  estab- 
lishment of  two  shifts  of  ten  or  eleven  hours  each. 
As  examples: 

Rolling  mills  may  run  two  ten-hour  shifts. 
Tube  mills  run  twenty-two  hours  out  of  twenty- 
four.  Packing  in  flour  mills  is  usually  on  two  ten- 
hour  shifts. 

h.  Arranging  what  is  nominally  a  twelve-hour  shift 
so  that  the  actual  work  can  be  completed  in  ten  or 
eleven  hours.     As  examples : 

Ice  pullers  sometimes  finish  their  work  in  ten  to 
eleven  hours;  firemen  in  brick  and  lime  plants  in 
eleven  hours. 

C,  Arranging  overlapping  shifts,  thus  securing  three 
nine-hour  or  three  ten-hour  shifts  in  twenty-four 
hours. 

d.  Arranging  nine  and  ten-hour  shifts  on  a  five-shift 
plan.  As  an  example — Procter  &  Gamble  Com- 
pany, Cincinnati,  Ohio. 

3.  Are  there  technical  difficulties  in  changing  from  two- 
shift  operation? 

In  the  overwhelming  majority  of  the  plants  which  have 
changed  from  two-  to  three-shift  operation  no  technical  diffi- 
culties have  been  encountered. 

There  is  usually  no  relationship  between  the  duration  of 
the  process  and  the  length  of  the  shift,  whether  the  latter  is 
twelve  hours  long  or  a  shorter  period. 

In  a  very  few  industries  such  as  making  glass,  burning 
brick,  or  making  special  grades  of  paper  some  managers  (but 
by  no  moans  all)  have  believed  that  more  uniform  results 
can  be  obtained  by  having  two  instead  of  throe  men  superin- 
tend the  making  of  a  batch  or  lot. 


CONCLUSIONS  211 

The  seeming  disadvantage  of  having  three  men  instead  of 
two  responsible  for  a  given  product,  or  process,  is  overcome 
by  standardizing  procedure  and  establishing  control  through 
precision  instruments. 

It  takes  more  careful  management,  however,  to  see  that 
three  men  do  not  between  them  dodge  the  responsibility  for 
the  proper  care  of  equipment. 

4.  What  are  the  factors  to  be  considered  in  changing 

from  two-shift  to  three-shift  operation  ? 
a.  The  readiness  or  unreadiness  of  the  men  to  do  more 

work  per  hour  under  the  shorter  shift. 
h.  The  responsibility  of  management  as  expressed  in 

planning,  supervision  and  control,  which  should  be 

of  a  higher   quality  than  usually  prevails   under 

two-shift  operation. 

c.  The  fluctuation  in  individual  earnings   and  labor 
costs. 

d.  General  industrial  and  economic  conditions,  as  de- 
termining the  time  of  making  the  change. 

€.  The  relationship  of  work  periods  for  shift-workers 

and  for  day-workers. 
/.  The  relationship  of  wage-rates  for  shift-workers  and 

for  day-workers 
g.  The  number  of  working  days  in  a  week. 
h.  The  rotation  of  shifts. 

5.  How  does  the  change  from  two-shift  to  three-shift 

operation  affect  the  number  of  shift-workers  ? 

It  is  not  possible  to  give  an  inclusive  answer  to  this  ques- 
tion because  of  the  variations  in  conditions.  In  many  plants 
the  number  of  shift-workers  has  increased  in  proportion  to 
the  increase  in  the  number  of  shifts.    In  other  plants  the  num- 


212    THE  TWELVE-HOUR  SHIFT  IN  INDUSTRY 

ber  of  shift-workers  has  remained  substantially  constant  when 
changing  from  two-shift  to  three-shift  operation. 

The  former  outcome  was  common  among  plants  which 
went  to  three  shifts  during  the  War,  and  it  inevitably  results 
when  the  management  gives  no  thought  to  how  three  shifts 
will  be  run. 

Under  normal  labor  conditions  most  plants  should  be  able 
to  introduce  a  third  shift  by  adding  35  per  cent,  to  the  num- 
ber of  shift  men. 

An  able  management,  having  the  co-operation  of  its  em- 
ployees, can  often  do  veiy  much  better.    For  example : 

The  Charles  Warner  Company  put  its  lime  kilns  on 
three  shifts  with  no  increase  in  the  number  of  shift  men. 

The  W Brick  Company  obtained  more  service 

from  its  kiln  firemen  in  eight  hours  than  previously  in 
twelve. 

The  American  Rolling  Mill  Company  put  its  bloom- 
ing and  bar  mills  on  three  shifts  with  an  increase  in  per- 
sonnel of  but  11  per  cent.,  its  open-hearth  department 
with  an  increase  of  but  15  per  cent. 

6.  What  is  the  effect  of  eight-hour  as  compared  with 
twelve-hour  shift  operation  on  the  quantity  and 
quality  of  production,  absenteeism,  labor  turnover 
and  industrial  accidents  ? 

It  is  iinpossible  to  give  average  quantitative  results  for 
any  industry  in  which  a  majority  of  the  plants  have  changed 
to  a  three-shift  basis  of  operation  but  evidence  is  available  to 
show  what  is  attainable  under  good  management  and  when 
the  cooperation  of  labor  has  been  secured. 

The  report  shows  that  in  prnctically  every  major  con- 
tinuous-industry there  are  plants  which  have  increased  the 


CONCLUSIONS  213 

quantity  of  production  per  man  up  to  as  much  as  25  per  cent. 
In  a  few  exceptional  cases  the  increase  has  been  much  higher. 

For  example: 

The  output  of  ore  per  man  in  the  Tennessee  Copper  Com- 
pany increased  from  30.49  tons  per  day  to  35.42,  an  increase 
of  16  per  cent.,  in  spite  of  the  reduction  in  hours. 

The  efficiency  of  the  men  at  the  Bayonne  refining  plant 
of  the  International  Nickel  Company  increased  approxi- 
mately 20  per  cent. 

The  average  number  of  man-hours  to  produce  one  barrel 
of  cement  in  fifty-one  plants  operating  on  two  shifts  is  1.035. 
The  corresponding  average  for  twenty-two  plants  operating 
on  three  shifts  is  0.823  or  a  decrease  in  the  number  of  man- 
hours  per  barrel  of  21  per  cent.  The  corresponding  average 
for  thirteen  plants  working  partly  on  two  shifts  and  partly 
on  three  shifts  is  0.756  man-hours  per  barrel  or  a  reduction 
from  the  tw^o-shift  group  record  of  27  per  cent. 

In  one  department  of  the  Texas  Portland  Cement  Com- 
pany the  increase  in  the  number  of  barrels  of  cement  ground 
per  day  was  from  4,000  to  5,500  or  37.5  per  cent. 

In  a  Louisville  flour  mill  the  output  was  increased 
100,000  barrels  per  year  or  30  per  cent. 

In  the  sulphuric-acid  plant  of  the  Tennessee  Copper  Com- 
pany the  pre-war  two-shift  standard  production  of  0.372  ton 
of  acid  per  man  per  day  increased  under  the  throe-shift  sys- 
tem to  0.878  ton  of  acid  per  man  per  day  or  an  increase  of 
130  per  cent.  This  took  place  during  a  period  of  eight  years 
and  there  had  been  a  number  of  improvements  in  the  plant 
and  process.  From  ^fay  to  December,  1921,  the  cost  of  acid 
making  was  reduced  43  per  cent. 

It  is  impossible  to  give  definite  quantitative  results  re- 
garding improvements  in  quality  due  to  the  shorter  work 
period.  The  evidence  shows  that  an  improvement  in  the 
quality  of  production  has  often  followed  the  reduction  in  the 


214    THE  TWELVE-HOUR  SHIFT  IN  INDUSTRY 

length  of  shifts.  In  many  cases,  however,  such  improvement 
has  not  been  noted. 

On  no  point  has  there  been  more  unanimity  of  evidence 
than  that  the  change  from  two  to  three  shifts  practically  al- 
ways reduces  absenteeism  and  labor  turnover,  and  in  a 
marked  degree. 

The  evidence  as  regards  accidents  is  inconclusive.  There 
may  be  fewer  accidents  to  process  and  equipment,  but  no 
correlation  has  been  found  between  reduction  in  hours  and 
reduction  in  personal  injuries. 

7.  How  do  wage-rates  on  eight-hour  shift  operation  com- 

pare with  wage-rates  on  twelve-hour  shift  operation  ? 

In  changing  to  three-shifts  hourly  wage  rates  are  most 
commonly  increased  about  20  or  25  per  cent. 

If  wages  are  rapidly  rising,  the  increase  may  be  50  per 
cent,  (making  daily  earnings  for  eight  hours  equal  to  those 
previously  paid  for  twelve  hours).  But  only  part  of  this 
increase  should  be  attributed  to  the  shortening  of  hours.  If 
wages  are  going  down,  or  if  there  is  unemployment,  the  day 
may  be  reduced  to  eight  hours  and  the  hourly  rates  left  un- 
changed. In  general,  industries  which  are  newly  on  three 
shifts  pay  somewhat  higher  hourly  rates  than  they  would 
pay  if  they  were  on  two  shifts. 

In  the  long  run  plants  which  remain  on  twelve  hours  are 
compelled  to  pay  substantially  as  high  rates  per  hour,  that  is 
50  per  cent,  more  per  day,  as  their  neighbors  which  are  on 
eight-hour  shifts. 

8.  What  is  the  general  opinion  of  managers  of  three- 

shift  plants  regarding  three-shift  as  compared  with 
two-shift  operation  ? 

There  is  a  natural  divergence  of  opinion  as  to  the  advan- 


CONCLUSIONS  215 

tages  and  disadvantages  of  three-shift  operation,  but  the 
weight  of  the  evidence  and  the  most  positive  statements  are 
in  favor  of  three-shift  operation.  This  is  evidenced  by  the 
following  testimony : 

In  almost  all  cases  of  the  steel  plants  reported  upon  in 
1920  as  having  changed  to  three  shifts,  the  managements 
state  that  considering  the  intangible  as  well  as  the  tangible 
factors  they  were  better  satisfied  with  the  three-shift  than 
with  the  two-shift  operation. 

The  manager  of  a  three-shift  company  whose  plant  ranks 
among  the  largest  in  the  industry  in  1922  reiterated  his  feel- 
ing of  satisfaction  with  three-shift  operation  and  added :  '^e 
are  strongly  opposed  to  twelve-hour  shifts,  though  not  opposed 
to  a  ten-hour  day  where  conditions  seem  to  make  that  desir- 
able. We  believe  that  industry  in  this  country  can  be  so  con- 
ducted as  to  permit  of  eight-hour  shifts  in  continuous-opera- 
tion." 

The  management  of  the  Palmerton,  Pennsylvania,  plant 
of  the  New  Jersey  Zinc  Company  is  of  the  opinion  that  their 
costs  are  lower  under  the  eight-hour  system. 

The  superintendent  of  the  Tennessee  Copper  Company  is 
positive  in  attributing  the  increase  in  efficiency  to  the  two- 
shift  operation. 

The  management  of  a  beet  sugar  company  is  gratified 
over  the  results  of  the  three-shift  system  and  feels  a  satis- 
faction in  the  greater  contentment  of  the  men  imder  im- 
proved working  conditions. 

A  Philadelphia  flour  mill  superintendent  declares  there 
is  no  question  but  that  flour  mills  can  be  put  on  three  shifts 
with  real  financial  profit  to  the  mill. 

On  the  other  hand,  the  superintendent  of  an  Indiana  Gas 
plant  could  not  see  much  difForonco  in  the  efficiency  of  the 
men  on  twelve-hour  and  eight-hour  shifts. 

A  Colorado  gas  company  found  that  three  shifts  took 


216    THE  TWELVE-HOUR  SHIFT  IN  INDUSTRY 

one-third  more  shift  men  than  two  shifts.    It  was  question- 
able whether  quality  had  improved. 

9.  Do  employees  make  good  use  of  the  increased  hours  of 

leisure  ? 

The  evidence  is  conclusive  that  leisure  time  of  four  extra 
hours  per  day  is  used  to  good  advantage. 

It  is  spent  in  gardening,  truck  farming  and  in  doing  odd 
jobs  which  otherwise  would  have  to  be  paid  for  or  would  not 
be  done  at  all.  Or  it  is  used  for  recreation,  for  family  or 
social  life,  or  for  following  the  individual's  personal  interests. 
Workmen  often  require  education  or  experience  with  the 
value  and  use  of  leisure  to  make  them  willing  to  give  up 
some  daily  income  in  exchange  for  it. 

10.  To  what  extent  have  plants  reverted  to  two-shift  op- 

eration ? 

In  the  course  of  the  field  investigation  a  few  plants  re- 
ported having  reverted  to  two-shift  operation  after  a  trial 
of  the  three-shift  system.  Their  proportion  to  the  number 
operating  on  three  shifts  is  so  small  as  to  be  negligible.  The 
weight  of  evidence  shows  that  when  a  plant  changes  to  three- 
shift  operation  it  is  very  unlikely  that  it  will  revert  to  the 
former  system. 


Part  III 
THE  IRON  AND  STEEL  INDUSTRY 


BY 
BRADLEY  STOUGHTON 

Metallurgical  Engineer;  Formerly  Associate  Professor  in  the  School  of 

Mines,  Columbia  University ;  Formerly  Vice-Chairman,  Engineering 

Division,  National  Eesearch  Council;  Chief  of  Cost  Statistical 

Division,  American  Steel  and  Wire  Co.;  formerly  secretary 

of  American   Institute   of   Mining   and   Metallurgical 

Engineers. 


CHAPTER  XVI 

INTRODUCTORY— THE   SITUATION  OF  THE 
INDUSTRY 

A  PREREQUISITE  IN  INDUSTRY— ECONOMICAL  OPERATION 

The  chief  guiding  principle  for  an  industry  is  that  it 
shall  be  run  economically,  in  order  that  it  may  survive  under 
the  stress  of  domestic  and  foreign  competition.  The  question 
to  be  solved  in  connection  with  "continuous  operations"  which 
are  so  prevalent  in  the  iron  and  steel  industry  is:  What  is 
the  most  commercially-economical  number  of  hours  that  the 
average  laborer  can  work  in  a  day,  from  the  viewpoint  of: 

1.  His  productivity:     In  a  day; 

In  a  week; 
In  a  year. 

2.  His   skill,   carefulness,   endurance,   alertness,    intelli- 

gence, judgment,  regularity,  morale,  good  will. 

3.  His  attraction  to  the  work,  so  that  it  may  benefit  by 

the  maximum  supply  of  labor  of  the  highest  type. 

4.  His  persistence  in  the  work,  so  that  once  he  has  been 

trained  in  the  operations  and  his  good  qualities  and 
faults  have  been  learned,  he  will  remain  as  an  asset 
in  the  industry. 

From  the  technical  aspect  a  laborer  is  not  regarded  merely 
as  a  soulless  machine.     On  the  contrary,  a  wise  executive 

219 


220    THE  TWELVE-HOUR  SHIFT  IN  INDUSTRY 

policy  takes  into  full  consideration  the  importance  of  the 
human  and  intellectual  side  of  labor.  There  is  no  economy 
in  saving  one  thousand  dollars  by  grinding  down  workmen, 
and  then  losing  ten  times  that  sum  through  lack  of  care, 
attention,  morale,  or  other  preventable  causes,  dependent 
upon  the  mental  or  psychological  attitude  of  the  men,  as 
distinguished  from  their  merely  physical  condition. 

On  the  other  hand,  it  is  obviously  of  no  permanent  benefit 
to  the  men  if  their  hours  on  duty  are  shortened  beyond  the 
point  where  the  industry  can  survive  under  competitive  con- 
ditions, or  even  if  the  most  economical  hours  are  established, 
under  conditions  of  cooperation  and  mutual  assistance,  and 
the  laborers,  by  withholding  their  cooperation,  defeat  the 
commercial  advantages  that  might  have  been  obtained.  An 
injury  to  the  industry  is  an  injury  to  the  men  as  well  as  to 
the  management  and  stockholders. 


"Contin  uoits-Operatioiis/' 

In  this  discussion  it  should  be  borne  in  mind  that  by 
"continuous-operations"  is  meant  those  operations  which 
continue  for  twenty-four  hours  a  day,  and  several  days — or 
even  years — in  succession.  The  hours  of  the  laborers  re- 
quired for  these  operations  must  be  a  fraction  of  twenty-four 
hours,  as,  twelve  or  eight.  But  the  nature  of  the  operations 
is  such  that  they  may  not  require  the  constant  labor  of  the 
men,  although  they  do  require  their  being  constantly  on  duty. 

Neither  are  all  the  laborers  employed  in  the  iron  and 
steel  industry  constantly  on  duty  in  connection  with  the 
"continuous-operations."  Only  a  portion  of  the  men  are 
necessary  for  this  twenty-four-hour  duty. 

Therefore,  the  problem  resolves  itself  into  the  twelve- 
hour  shift  versus  the  eight-hour  shift  for  this  portion  of  the 
workmen  only,  considered  in  its  commercial  and  economical 


THE  SITUATION  OF  THE  INDUSTRY  221 

aspects,  as  well  as  the  technical  aspect  of  the  question, 
namely:  How  will  the  relative  economy  or  effectiveness  of 
the  two  systems  of  dividing  the  twenty-four  hours  of  labor 
be  affected  by  different  types  of  apparatus,  by  different  con- 
duct of  the  operations,  by  mechanical  (or  other)  devices  for 
replacing  a  part  of  the  labor,  etc.  ? 

Old  Cotiditions  and  the  Twelve-hour  ShifL- 

The  principle  of  the  twelve-hour  shift  is  a  survival  of  the 
time  when  it  was  the  custom  to  work  men  long  hours,  and 
when  the  mechanical  side  of  the  iron  and  steel  industry  was 
less  perfectly  developed,  so  that  periods  of  enforced  idleness 
of  the  mill  and  the  men  occurred  much  more  frequently  than 
at  present.  Even  when  no  break-down  of  apparatus  occurred, 
the  nature  of  some  of  the  operations  was  such  that  peak  loads 
of  great  intensity  alternated  with  periods  when  the  process 
requires  little  or  no  labor.  Some  of  these  peak  loads  were 
so  taxing  that  it  was  imperative  that  they  be  followed  by 
rest  and  recuperation,  and  some  of  the  valley  loads  were  so 
light  that  it  would  be  almost  impossible  to  find  useful  work 
for  the  men  to  do  even  if  they  were  not  in  need  of  rest.  Con- 
sequently it  was  the  custom  for  the  men  to  rest,  or  to  leave 
the  immediate  vicinity  of  their  work,  or  even  to  sleep,  while 
technically  on  duty,  with  the  result  that  the  normal  twelve- 
hour  shift  was  not  overtaxing.  A  more  important  commercial 
and  economical  factor  of  the  type  of  work  in  some  operations, 
notably  the  blast  furnace  and  the  open-hearth  furnace,  was 
that  usually  a  man  could  not  perform  a  reasonable  amount 
of  physical  labor  during  eight  hours  of  being  technically  on 
duty,  for  he  would  be  actually  engaged  for  only  four  to  six 
hours  in  a  day. 

When,  in  the  course  of  modern  progress,  the  manufac- 
turers of  some  other  commodities  reduced  the  work-day  to 


222    THE  TWELVE-HOUR  SHIFT  IN  INDUSTRY 

shorter  and  shorter  hours,  the  iron  and  steel  manufacturer 
did  not  follow  suit,  because  he  did  not  see  how  he  could  do 
so  without  going  in  one  step  from  twelve  hours  to  eight  hours, 
with  the  result  of  failing  to  secure  any  reasonable  expendi- 
ture of  energy  on  the  part  of  the  men.  The  twelve-hour  shift 
seemed  to  be  peculiarly  adapted  to  the  iron  industry. 

For  example,  it  might  require  thirty-six  men  to  man  an 
old-fashioned  blast  furnace,  producing  about  a  hundred  tons 
of  pig  iron  in  tv/enty-four  hours.  One-half  of  the  men  would 
work  eleven  hours  on  the  day  shift,  the  other  half  working 
thirteen  hours  on  the  night  shift.  During  the  night  the  men 
could  usually  have  four  to  five-and-a-half  hours  of  sleep 
between  peak  loads,  but  when  the  peak  loads  were  to  be 
handled,  the  full  crew  of  eighteen  men  were  needed.  These 
loads  came  about  five  times  per  twenty- four  hours;  human 
ingenuity  has  not  devised  a  method  of  overlapping  crews, 
whereby  the  change  of  shift  would  come  at  the  time  of  these 
five  peak  loads,  even  if  the  blast-furnace  operation  were 
regular  enough  to  enable  one  to  predict  just  when  the  peak 
load  would  occur,  which  it  is  not.  Therefore,  if  labor  were 
worked  on  three  shifts  instead  of  two,  each  crew  would  still 
have  to  be  a  full  complement  of  eighteen  men,  or  nearly  so, 
to  handle  the  peak  loads,  and  each  man  would  be  idle  as 
large  a  proportion  of  the  full  time  as  when  the  crews  were 
on  duty  for  twelve  hours. 

There  might  be  a  slight  modification  of  this  statement, 
because  of  a  fraction  more  physical  power,  and  some  greater 
willingness  to  assume  added  labor,  resulting  from  the  men 
being  given  shorter  hours,  but  not  enough  to  alter  the  prin- 
ciple involved.  The  twelve-hour  shift  was  the  only  means 
of  getting  a  full  day's  work  out  of  a  strong  man  at  the  old- 
fashioned  blast  furnace. 


THE  SITUATION  OF  THE  INDUSTRY  223 

Change  in  Conditions  Today. 

But  today  practically  all  the  heavy  labor  at  the  blast 
furnace  is  handled  by  machinery ;  a  veiy  much  smaller  crew 
than  eighteen  men  can  take  care  of  all  the  work  at  a  modern 
furnace  making  600  tons  of  pig  iron  in  twenty-four  hours. 
The  manual  labor  remaining  comes  in  peak  loads  about  five 
times  in  twenty-four  hours,  and  periods  of  idleness  between. 
The  chief  difference  is  that  the  labor  cost  per  ton  of  pig  iron 
is  very  much  less,  and  therefore  the  economic  factor  of  in- 
creasing the  labor  by  employing  three  crews,  instead  of  two, 
is  a  smaller  item. 

It  should  be  said,  moreover,  that  there  is  one  American 
blast  furnace  of  very  modern  construction  which  works  its 
labor  in  three  shifts  and  permits  no  periods  of  idleness. 

At  the  open-hearth  furnaces  also  the  heavy  peak  loads 
are  now  handled,  whenever  desired,  by  labor-saving  devices, 
although  there  is  still  a  good  deal  of  irregularity  in  labor 
requirements  from  hour  to  hour,  with  resultant  opportunity 
for  rest  periods,  though  not  for  sleep.  Finally,  the  enforced 
idleness  due  to  mechanical  break-downs  is  now  much  less 
frequent. 

Influences  Deferring  Shorter  Shifts — Questions  Involved. 

Obviously,  then,  the  chief  causes  originally  operating  to 
perpetuate  the  tvvelve-hour  shift  in  iron  and  steel  works  have 
been  greatly  decreased  in  intensity,  if  not  entirely  removed. 
What  reasons  remain  to  prevent  the  steel  industry  from 
dividing  the  twenty-four  hours  into  three  shifts  instead  of 
into  two? 

It  is  to  be  noted  that  many  American  plants  have  already 
taken  this  step,  and  that  they  declare  themselves  satisfied 
with  the  results  and  are  planning  to  ma.ke  the  three-shift 
system  permanent.  Other  executives,  however,  hesitate  to 
take  the  step,  because  they  do  not  know  what  the  result  will 


224    THE  TWELVE-HOUR  SHIFT  IN  INDUSTRY 

be.  Will  there  be  an  increase  of  labor  efficiency  or  prodnc' 
tivity  to  absorb  a  good  part  of  the  extra  cost  of  working  three 
crews  instead  of  two  ?  Will  the  apparatus  be  capable  of  in- 
creased production  if  the  men  work  harder  on  shorter  hours  ? 
If  the  answer  to  these  questions  is  negative,  will  there  be 
other  compensating  economic  benefits,  such  as  less  need  of 
repairs,  less  labor  turnover,  fewer  accidents  ?  If  the  answer 
to  the  questions  is  affirmative,  then  where  is  the  extra  labor 
coming  from  ?  Will  diluting  the  present  skilled  labor  force 
with  raw  recruits  produce  a  commercial  set-back  ?  Will  three 
shifts  increase  the  difficulty  of  fixing  responsibility?  Will 
the  men  misuse  their  added  four  hours  of  freedom  from 
dutv  ?    Will  they  be  more  subject  to  labor  agitators  ? 


DEFINITION:    THE  TWO-SHIFT  SYSTEM  VS.  THE  TWELVE- 

HOUE  DAY 

The  two-shift  system  does  not  mean  that  every  man  work- 
ing in  the  plant  labors  for  twelve  hours  every  day.  Far  from 
it!  In  fact  we  find,  although  all  the  men  may  be  on  two 
shifts,  it  is  only  the  so-called  "continuous-operations"  which 
require  attention  for  the  whole  twenty-four  hours;  the  men 
who  are  merely  accessory  to  these  "continuous-operations" 
are  not  on  duty  all  the  time.  The  two  shifts  for  these  latter 
men  may  be  of  only  ten  hours'  duration  each,  in  which  case 
there  will  be  a  period  of  two  hours  at  the  end  of  each  shift 
when  their  places  will  be  vacant. 

Working  Hours  in  1920. 

A  report  of  the  United  States  Department  of  Labor,  re- 
leased for  publication  May  24,  1922,  gives  the  following 
percentages  of  workmen  in  different  departments  of  iron  and 
steel  works,  for  the  year  1920  classified  as  to  the  number  of 
hours  worked  per  day: 


THE  SITUATION  OF  THE  INDUSTRY 

TABLE  13 
Iron  and  Steel  Workers  in  1920 


225 


Working 
12  hours 
per  day 

Working 
8  hours 
per  day 

Others 

(by 

difference) 

At  blast  furnaces 

63% 

75 

50 

20 

60 

60 
Over    50% 
Under  10% 

is% 

22 
30 
20 
25 
40 
15 
60-70% 

19% 

Bessemer  mills 

3 

Open-hearth  mills 

20 

Puddling  mills 

60 

Blooming  mills 

15 

Rail  mills 

Bar  mills 

Under  35% 

Sheet  and  tin  plate  mills 

Over    25% 

These  figures  of  the  year  1920  are  probably  the  best  ones 
to  use  for  normal  recent  indications,  because  although  many 
plants  adopted  the  eight-hour  day  for  several  classes  of  work- 
men during  the  slack  period  of  1921,  they  did  so  at  a  reduced 
daily  wage  merely  for  the  purpose  of  keeping  a  larger  num- 
ber of  men  employed.  The  object  was  to  keep  the  men  busy 
at  shorter  hours  and  lower  daily  wage,  rather  than  to  keep 
a  less  number  of  men  on  the  same  wages.  Some  of  the-so 
plants  returned  to  the  two-shift  system  as  soon  as  the  com- 
mercial situation  warranted  their  producing  a  larger  output. 
Some  plants  were  forced  to  return  because  comj)etitors  were 
working  their  men  twelve  hours  at  twelve  hours'  pay 
and  the  men  who  were  only  getting  eight  hours'  pay  were 
attracted  away  by  the  higher  daily  wage,  notwithstanding  the 
longer  hours  that  went  with  it. 

STioriening  of  Hours  from  1910  to  1920. 

If,  now,  the  figures  iov  the  preceding  decade  are  ex- 
amined, it  will  be  seem  that  in  recent  years  there  has  been  a 
great  decrease  in  the  proportion  of  employees  of  the  iron  and 


226    THE  TWELVE-HOUR  SHIFT  IN  INDUSTRY 

steel  industry  working  long  hours,  and  a  large  increase  in 
those  who  had  an  eight-hour  day.  This  statement  is  sup- 
ported by  comparison  of  the  figures  in  the  Department  of 
Labor  report  just  mentioned  with  those  in  Documents  Nos. 
110  and  301  of  the  62nd  Congress,  2nd  Session,  entitled 
"Conditions  of  Employment  in  the  Iron  and  Steel  Industry 
in  the  United  States." 

The  data  in  these  several  publications  are  not  all  arranged 
exactly  the  same  way,  so  that  some  estimates  have  to  be  made 
in  order  to  make  the  figures  comparative  by  classes,  but  the 
error  is  less  than  1  or  2  per  cent,  either  way.  Comparisons 
seem  to  be  possible  only  in  the  case  of  the  blast  furnaces, 
Bessemer  mills,  and  open-hearth  mills,  because  the  data  re- 
ferring to  rolling  mills  are  classified  differently  in  the  several 
publications,  but  the  relations  of  hours  worked  in  these  three 
fundamental  manufacturing  departments  are  sufficient  to 
throw  light  on  the  subject  discussed  in  this  study. 


The  Eigiity-foue-Hour  Week 

According  to  these  government  figures,  the  following 
table  shows  the  percentages  of  employees  of  the  three  funda- 
mental manufacturing  department  working  eighty-four  hours 
per  week  in  1910  and  in  1920. 

TABLE  14 
Iron  and  Steel  Workers  Employed  84  Hours  per  Week 

IN    1910   AND    1920 


Working  84  hours  per  week 

In  1910 

In  1920 

At  blast  furnaces 

75% 

18 

24 

29% 

Bessemer  mills 

12 

Open-hearth  mills 

17 

THE  SITUATION  OF  THE  INDUSTRY 


22'i 


As  nearly  as  can  be  estimated  from  the  data  given,  the 
following  table  gives  the  percentage  of  laborers  in  the  same 
three  departments  who  worked  the  long  and  the  short  shift 
respectively,  in  1910  and  in  1920: 

TABLE  15 
Iron  and  Steel  Workers  on  Two  Shipts  and  on  Three  SniFTa 

IN   1910  AND   1920 


Working 

12  hours 

Working  8  hours 

1910 

1920 

1910 

1920 

At  blast  furnaces 

Bessemer  mills 

Open-hearth  mills 

69% 

65 

76 

63% 

75 

50 

1% 
16 
2 

is% 

22 
30 

The  proportion  of  men  working  twelve  hours  in  the  Bessemer 
mills  is  an  exception  to  the  general  trend,  but  the  Bessemer 
process  has  been  on  the  wane  for  many  years,  and  the  number 
of  men  employed  is  probably  very  much  reduced  since  1910. 
Almost  all  the  men  who  work  either  nine  or  ten  hour.s 
per  day  are  those  who  are  accessory  to  the  "continuous- 
operations"  ;  that  is,  it  is  not  essential  that  their  places  be 
occupied  during  all  the  twenty-four  hours  of  the  day.  A 
comparison  of  this  class  of  employees  for  1910  and  1920  is 
shown  in  the  following  table: 

TABLE  16 


At  blast  furnaces . 
Bessemer  mills .  . . 
Open-hearth  mills 


Percentage  of  employees 

working  either  9  hours  or 

10  hours  per  day 


228    THE  TWEL\^-HOUR  SHIFT  IN  INDUSTRY 

Two-shift  Plan  vs.  Twelve-Hours  Actual  ^Vor^c. 

The  fact  that  men  on  the  two-shift  system  do  not  actually 
work  for  twelve  hours,  but  rest  a  good  deal  of  the  time  while 
on  duty,  is  exemplified  by  blast-furnace  operation,  in  which 
it  is  common  practice  for  the  men  to  have  one  or  two  periods 
of  two  to  two-and-a-half  hours  each  during  a  shift  for  rest 
or  sleep.  In  some  plants  rest  houses  are  provided  at  the 
blast  furnaces,  (less  occasionally  at  the  rolling  mills),  where 
popular  and  semi-technical  magazines  are  kept  on  file,  and 
where  the  men  are  permitted  to  loaf  or  sleep  when  not  re- 
quired for  active  duty,  but  always  on  call  in  case  of  need. 
Some  plants  have  cafeterias  and  soda  fountains,  where  the 
men  are  permitted  to  go  for  refreshment  between  periods  of 
active  labor.  They  are  paid  for  these  intervals  provided 
they  are  within  the  plant  and  on  call. 

Many  managers  sincerely  believe  that  the  two-shift  system 
of  this  type,  namely :  twelve  hours'  duty,  twelve  hours'  pay, 
with  seven-and-a-half  to  eight  hours  only  of  active  work  and 
rest  intervals  between,  is  better  for  the  health  of  the  men 
than  eight  hours  of  continuous  labor.  This  view,  however, 
does  not  take  into  account  the  insufficiency  of  the  rest  which 
the  men  on  the  night  shift  obtain,  due  to  only  eleven  hours 
between  shifts.  These  men  have  an  opportunity  to  sleep 
only  in  daytime,  and  often  during  hot  weather  they  return 
to  their  work  at  6  p.  m.  more  tired  than  when  they  left  it. 

Another  two-shift  system  which  also  differs  from  a 
twelve-hour  work  day  has  been  in  vogue  during  the  depression 
in  the  iron  and  steel  industry  in  1921  and  1922.  It  consists 
of  working  two  shifts  of  eiglit  hours,  nine  hours,  and  some- 
times ten  hours  each  and  allowing  the  equipment  to  lie  idle 
during  the  intervals  between.  This  has  been  adopted  merely 
for  the  purpose  of  decreasing  output.  In  every  case  investi- 
gated, however,  with  one  exception,  it  has  been  only  partially 


THE  SITUATION  OF  THE  INDUSTRY  229 

successful  iu  decreasing  output — that  is  to  say,  the  output  per 
hour  has  increased  so  much  that  two  ten-hour  shifts  at  certain 
rolling  mills  have  produced  more  tonnage  than  was  formerly 
produced  on  twelve-hour  shifts.  In  another  case,  two  eight- 
hour  shifts  produced  within  a  negligible  fraction  as  much  as 
had  been  produced  in  two  twelve-hour  shifts.  It  was  necessary 
in  one  case,  where  reduced  tonnage  was  imperative,  to  limit 
the  output  of  each  shift.  When  the  men  had  rolled  the  limit, 
they  went  home,  regardless  of  number  of  hours  worked.  The 
working  time  was  usually  less  than  ten  hours,  notwithstand- 
ing that  all  took  things  easy. 

The  result  in  these  plants  cannot  be  ascribed  wholly  to 
increased  efficiency  of  the  men  working  shorter  hours.  In 
one  case  it  was  due  to  the  removal  of  a  previously  unsus- 
pected ''bottle  neck"  at  the  furnaces  which  heated  the 
material  for  rolling.  When  these  furnaces  had  an  interval 
both  before  and  after  each  shift,  they  coordinated  so  much 
better  with  the  roll  trains  that  greatly  increased  output  per 
hour  was  possible.  Until  additional  furnaces  could  be  in- 
stalled, it  would  be  impossible  to  estimate  how  much  of  the 
hourly  increase  in  productivity  was  due  to  equipment  and 
how  much  to  labor. 

Two  Shifts  with  Idle  Periods — Difficulties. 

The  two-shift  system  with  idle  periods  of  equipment  is 
not  possible  at  blast  furnaces  or  open-hearth  dei)artments. 
And,  wherever  it  is  adopted,  it  involves  waste  of  fuel  in  that 
idle  furnaces  must  be  maintained  hot.  It  may  be  thouglit 
that  the  idle  mill  and  machinery  will  increase  overhead 
expenses,  but  this  is  obviously  not  so  when  the  output  must 
be  limited  in  any  event. 

In  some  cases  the  statement  has  been  made  that  the  plan 
just  mentioned  resulted  in  saving  on  account  of  alTording 
a  better  opportunity  to  keep  the  equipment  in  repair.     Iu 


230    THE  TWELVE-HOUR  SHIFT  IN  INDUSTRY 

one  case  this  was  denied,  on  the  ground  that  there  is  always 
apt  to  be  a  break-down  soon  after  idle  machinery  or  equip- 
ment is  started  again,  regardless  of  how  carefully  it  is  in- 
spected and  repaired  between  operations,  and  that  therefore 
the  idle  periods  actually  caused  increased  interruptions  by 
break-downs. 

Summary. 

The  differences  between  the  two-shift  system  and  a 
twelve-hour  work  day  may  be  summarized  as  follows: 

1.  Even  where  the  two-shift  system  is  the  rule  of  the 

plant,  only  two-thirds  to  three-fourths  of  the  em- 
ployees work  twelve  hours; 

2.  Even  those  who  are  on  duty  for  twelve  hours,  and  are 

paid  for  twelve  hours,  are  actually  engaged  in  labor 
no  more  than  from  seven  to  ten  hours;  an  average 
of  nine  hours  would  not  be  far  wrong,  counting 
times  of  emergency,  etc.  But  these  men  are  subject 
to  labor,  if  needed,  and  subject  to  orders  for  the 
whole  twelve  hours,  which  they  must  spend  in  the 
plant ; 

3.  Two  shifts  may  be  worked,  leaving  idle  periods  at 

the  end  of  each.  Thus  the  men  will  work  less  than 
twelve  hours  each. 

DEFINITION:     THREE-SHIFT  SYSTEM  VS.  THE   EIGHT-HOUE 

DAY 

As  great  as  the  difference  between  the  two-shift  system 
and  the  twelve-hour  day  is  that  between  the  three-shift  system 
and  the  eight-hour  day.  Taking  the  Table  on  page  16  as  an 
illustration:  If  all  the  twelve-hour  men  in  that  Table  were 
changed  into  eight-hour  men,  we  should  have  a  three-shift 
system  throughout  the  iron  and  steel  industry.     But,  when 


THE  SITUATION  OF  THE  INDUSTRY  231 

the  change  is  made,  it  is  found  after  study  and  some  experi- 
menting that  some  of  the  men  working  two  shifts  of  twelve 
hours  each  can  be  changed  to  two  shifts  of  ten  hours  each, 
thus  giving  the  men  easier  hours  with  the  same  daily  wage 
and  no  expense  to  the  industry.  Others  can  be  changed  to 
three  shifts  of  eight  hours  each,  and,  simultaneously,  forced 
to  take  on  a  little  more  work,  thus  decreasing  the  size  of  the 
crews.     This  is  discussed  in  detail  on  page  228. 

The  ideal  achievement  from  the  technical  standpoint 
would  be  to  work  all  the  eight-hour  men  continuously,  with- 
out any  loafing  periods,  and  always  on  operating  productivity. 
While  this  has  been  found  possible  at  rolling  mills  (see  page 
256,  with  actual  saving  of  cost  over  the  two-shift  system,  it 
has  not,  so  far,  been  found  possible  at  blast-furnaces  or  open- 
hearth  mills.  The  Ford  Motor  Company,  however,  requires 
that  its  men  work  at  something  during  the  entire  eight-hour 
shift.  Between  productive  operations  these  men  are  engaged 
in  cleaning  up,  painting,  adjusting,  inspecting,  etc.,  the 
different  parts  of  the  blast  furnace  and  its  accessory  appa- 
ratus. The  management  attributes  to  this  constant  attention 
and  w^atchfulness  the  circumstance  that  all  parts  are  clean 
and  open  to  inspection,  and  that  the  need  of  repairs  is 
observed  before  either  the  repairs,  or  the  consequences  of 
neglecting  them,  become  serious.  The  management  believes 
that  a  great  deal  of  expense  is  saved  in  this  way.  The  prin- 
ciple may  be  stated  as  follows:  The  crew,  although  not 
engaged  constantly  in  operating  productivity,  is  engaged  con- 
stantly either  in  productivity  or  in  avoiding  waste. 

Questions  Involved  in  Proposal  for  Shorter  Shifts. 

The  American  iron  and  steel  industry  is  at  a  disadvan- 
tage in  answering  some  of  the  technical  questions  involved 
in  the  proposal  for  shorter  shifts,  because  it  never  has 
had  a  well-developed  research  department  upon  which  exec- 


232    THE  TWELVE-HOUR  SHIFT  IN  INDUSTRY 

iitives  could  predicate  changes  in  practice.  Thus,  most  of 
the  important  technical  advances  of  great  magnitude,  even 
though  invented  in  America,  have  had  to  be  tested  and 
exploited  in  foreign  countries  before  they  were  generally 
adopted  in  the  American  industry — for  example,  gas  engines 
at  blast  furnaces;  electric  production,  or  refining,  of  iron 
and  steel.  With  England  and  Europe  in  an  abnormal  com- 
mercial condition  after  the  War,  and  with  labor  triumphant 
after  forcing  on  the  industry  the  adoption  of  the  three-shift 
system  without  opportunity  to  prepare  in  advance  by  research 
or  technical  advances,  the  American  industry  cannot  look 
abroad  for  an  answer  to  these  questions.  (See  pages  245 
and  246. 

Furthermore,  it  is  not  to  be  inferred  from  America's 
experience  with  shorter  shifts  in  1921  that  a  larger  output 
is  necessarily  obtained  from  the  twelve-hour  shift.  The  year 
1921  was  a  time  of  depression  in  the  iron  and  steel  industry; 
manufacturers  did  not  work  either  their  men  or  their  equip- 
ment to  full  capacity.  Nevertheless,  it  was  noted  at  many 
plants,  and  reported  to  the  investigator  during  his  visits,  that 
there  was  a  marked  increase  of  efficiency  of  labor  during  the 
period  of  working  eight-hour  shifts.  Some  attributed  this 
increased  efficiency  to  the  better  rest  which  men  were  able 
to  obtain  between  shifts,  and  others  to  be  the  increased 
eagerness  of  men  to  hold  their  jobs,  which  intensified  their 
activity  as  long  as  they  saw  a  gang  of  men  seeking  employ- 
ment. It  was  noted  that  the  efficiency  of  labor  decreased  with 
the  decrease  in  surplus  of  labor  available.  Therefore,  the 
conclusion  which  many  superintendents  of  departments  have 
drawn  from  the  experience  of  1021,  namely:  that  the  eight- 
hour  shift  very  greatly  increased  the  efficiency  of  labor,  must 
be  qualified  to  the  extent  indicated.  Unfortunately  we  do 
not  know  whether  the  increase  of  efficiency  observed  was  due 
wholly  to  the  eight-hour  shift,  or  wholly  to  the  psychological 


THE  SITUATION  OF  THE  INDUSTRY  233 

effect  of  knowing  that  men  were  available  seeking  one's  job, 
or  partly  to  both  causes.  Attention  is  called  elsewhere  (see 
page  288)  to  the  possibility  of  securing  the  increase  of  effi- 
ciency from  both  causes  at  once,  even  during  a  time  of  labor 
shortage. 

There  are  other  points  of  doubt  which  militate,  at  present, 
against  the  adoption  of  the  eight-hour  shift  for  "continuous- 
operations."  One  question  asked  by  executives  is  this:  If 
men  are  given  twelve  hours'  pay  for  eight  hours'  work,  will 
they  not  still  be  discontented  and  agitate  for  twelve  hours' 
work  at  the  advanced  rate?  As  noted  elsewhere,  however, 
(see  page  288)  there  seems  to  be  no  good  reason  to  expect 
such  a  result,  if  the  proper  remedy  is  applied. 

The  Real  Issue. 

A  second  question  asked  by  executives,  however,  is  more 
important :  Do  the  men  want  the  eight-hour  shift  ?  Now  if 
this  question  really  means — as  I  understand  it — Do  the  men 
want  the  eight-hour  shift  with  eight  hours'  pay  at  the  present 
hourly  rate  ?  then  I  believe  there  can  be  no  question  that 
they  do  not!  The  present  daily  wage  of  three  dollars  and 
sixty  cents,  which  is  given  for  twelve  hours'  work  at  thirty 
cents  per  hour,  is  as  low  as  any  on  which  even  "common 
labor"  can  live  in  America  and  support  a  family. 

This  last  question  seems  to  bring  the  whole  matter  to  a 
definite  issue.  Evidently,  if  the  eight-hour  shift  is  to  be 
adopted,  "common  labor"  must  be  paid  the  same  daily  wage 
as  at  present,  and  some  technical  or  commercial  compensation 
found  in  the  conduct  of  the  operations.  If  that  is  not  pos- 
sible, and  if  profits  at  present  cannot  stand  the  extra  pro- 
duction cost,  then  the  twelve-hour  shift  must  be  continued 
until  a  change  occurs. 


CHAPTER  XVII 

CHANGING    TO    THREE    SHIFTS— GENERAL 
CONSIDERATIONS 

CONDITIONS  PKECEDENT  TO  CHANGE 

Assuming  for  the  sake  of  argument  that  the  management 
and  stockholders  of  an  iron  and  steel  company  have  decided 
to  abolish  the  twelve-hour  shift  as  soon  as  practicable;  to 
do  so  as  economically  as  possible,  but  to  pay  the  cost  of  the 
change  out  of  profits,  if  necessary ;  what  conditions  are  impor- 
tant from  the  technical  viewpoint,  and  what  provisions  should 
be  made  ? 

1.  The  equipment  must  be  in  satisfactory  condition,  so 

that  it  will  respond  to  increased  intensity  of  oper- 
ation, if  any,  and  increased  efficiency  of  labor,  if 
any. 

2.  The  cooperation  of  the  men  must  be  secured. 

3.  Additional  labor,  both  skilled  and  unskilled,  must  be 

available. 

4.  The  technical  staff  must  be  prepared  to  furnish  full 

information  regarding  all  available  labor-saving 
appliances. 

5.  Existing    "bottle    necks"    must   be   eliminated,    and 

probably  ''bottle  necks"  which  will  appear  after 
production  is  speeded  up  must  be  foreseen  as  well 
as  possible,  and  provisions  made  to  eliminate  them. 

6.  "Peak  loads"  must  be  studied  with  especial  reference 

to  lightening  them  with  mechanical  appliances. 
234 


CHANGING  TO  THREE  SHIFTS  235 

7.  Progress  must  be  gradual;  too  many  changes  cannot 
satisfactorily  be  made  at  once. 

Importance  of  Adequate  Equipment. 

The  capital  expenditure  necessary  to  put  the  equipment 
in  satisfactory  condition  will  not  be  wasted  even  if  the  hopes 
of  the  management  are  disappointed  and  there  is  evidenced 
no  increased  efficiency  of  labor  to  intensify  operations.  This 
will  be  the  more  true  if  we  keep  in  mind  the  seventh  con- 
dition and  proceed  gradually. 

Cooperation. 

True  cooperation  can  result  only  from  confidence.  If 
the  men  mistrust  the  motives  of  the  management  in  changing 
from  two  shifts  to  three  shifts,  they  can  easily  destroy  many 
of  the  compensatory  benefits  which  might  accrue  to  the  enter- 
prise in  return  for  the  risk  or  financial  sacrifice  made.  On 
the  other  hand,  if  there  is  entirely  frank  discussion,  in  ad- 
vance, of  the  change;  if  the  past  record  of  the  management 
is  such  as  to  inspire  the  men  with  confidence  in  their  sin- 
cerity; if  the  men  learn  that  they  may  themselves  speak 
freely  without  exposing  themselves  to  being  discriminated 
against,  then  it  has  been  proved  that  the  men  can  give  sug- 
gestions of  real  value,  and  their  loyalty,  attendance,  prompt- 
ness to  work,  good  will,  response  under  emergency,  care, 
attention,  and  general  morale  are  better.  All  this  not  only 
facilitates  the  change,  but  it  helps  all  over  the  rough  places, 
reduces  labor  turnover,  and  makes  the  daily  work  more 
attractive  to  all. 

The  larger  the  company  the  more  difficult  it  is  to  inspire 
in  the  laborers  confidence  in  the  motives  of  the  management. 
This  is  a  psychological  handicap  which  is  inlieroTit  in  an 
organization  of  great  size.     It  may,  therefore,  be  easier  for 


236    THE  TWELVE-HOUR  SHIFT  IN  INDUSTRY 

the  smaller  companies  to  make  the  change  than  for  those  of 
larger  magnitude ;  it  may  even  be  better  for  the  industry  for 
the  smaller  companies  to  change  first.  It  is  the  fact  that 
those  companies  which  have  already  adopted  the  three-shift 
system  are  all  comparatively  small.  The  great  organizations 
can  perhaps  most  easily  convince  their  men  of  their  sincerity 
if  they  frankly  adopt  the  principle  of  abandoning  the  twelve- 
hour  shift  in  imitation  of  smaller  competitors,  provided  they 
do  not  delay  so  long  that  the  men  demand  it  before  the 
management  offers  it.  The  disastrous  effects  of  changing 
merely  in  response  to  a  demand  from  the  men  is  shown  in 
the  results  of  the  change  in  the  European  countries,  as  dis- 
cussed on  pages  245  and  246. 

The  Question  of  Additional  Labor. 

Even  the  fondest  advocates  of  the  three-shift  system  admit 
that  some  additional  labor  is  necessitated  by  the  change  from 
the  twelve-hour  day.  If  the  change  is  made  gradually,  how- 
ever, and  if  the  cooperation  of  the  men  is  secured,  the 
additional  skilled  labor  may  be  trained  in  the  plant  itself. 
No  case  exists,  so  far  as  known  to  the  investigator,  in  which 
labor  was  not  available  at  the  prevailing  daily  wage,  and  even, 
in  some  cases,  at  a  slightly  reduced  daily  wage,  to  supply 
the  need  when  the  eight-hour  shift  was  adopted.  Those  plants 
which  have  adopted  the  three-shift  system  have  found  that 
labor  was  attracted  from  other  occupations  because  of  the 
short  day,  or  from  other  localities. 

The  statement  just  made  may  appear  to  be  contradicted 
by  the  experience  of  many  companies  in  1922,  which 
adopted  the  three-shift  system  in  1920  and  1921,  when  the 
reduced  activity  of  the  steel  industry  caused  a  surplus  of 
labor.  The  companies  in  question  worked  several  depart- 
ments on  three  eight-hour  shifts,  paying  the  same  hourly 
rate,  and  therefore,  of  course,  a  daily  rate  of  SSVg  per  cent. 


CHANGING   TO  THREE  SHIFTS  237 

lower  than  before.  This  cost  them  nothing  and  kept  a  greater 
number  of  men  busy.  The  men  were  willing  to  work  on  these 
terms  (since  they  could  get  no  better)  so  long  as  their  jobs 
were  in  jeopardy,  but  as  soon  as  the  steel  industry  became 
more  active  and  they  could  get  work  elsewhere,  they  left  the 
eight-hour  plants  and  applied  for  work  at  twelve-hour  plants. 
In  other  words,  they  wanted  more  money  even  if  they  had 
to  work  twelve  hours  to  get  it.  Some  of  the  best  began  to  be 
attracted  away,  because  they  were  the  men  who  found  it 
easiest  to  secure  the  work  at  twelve-hour  plants.  This  experi- 
ence was  somewhat  widespread  geographically,  and  perhaps 
did  more  than  any  other  one  thing  to  prejudice  executives 
against  the  three-shift  system. 

But  this  experience  has  been  cited  many  times  by  those 
who  have  remained  on  the  three-shift  system  as  an  instance 
of  going  about  the  change  in  the  wrong  way  and  of  drawing 
wrong  conclusions  by  erroneous  interpretation  of  events. 

Dubious  Inferences. 

Failure  to  consider  all  the  facts  seems  to  have  led  in  some 
cases  to  incorrect  inferences.  For  example,  the  prevailing 
wages  for  common  labor  in  the  northern  steel  districts  is 
thirty  cents  per  hour;  in  rare  cases  less  is  paid,  and  in  the 
southern  districts,  much  less  is  paid.  It  is  admitted  that 
even  the  commonest  laboring  man  cannot  support  a  family 
decently  on  $2.40  per  day.  It  may  have  boon  more  humane 
to  pay  three  men  $7.20  a  day,  and  work  them  all  eight  hours 
apiece  than  to  pay  $3.60  to  two  men  for  twelve  hours'  work 
each  and  let  the  third  man  depend  on  charity.  But  whatever 
may  have  been  the  rights  of  this  action,  and  it  would  seem 
to  have  been  best  and  wisest  under  the  circumstances,  it  was 
an  expedient  to  meet  a  situation ;  it  was  not  an  application 
of  the  three-shift  principle;  it  was  rather  a  form  of 
social  economy  during  an  industrial  crisis  whose  application 


238    THE  TWELVE-HOUR  SfHFT  IN  INDUSTRY 

ceased  when  the  crisis  passed.  It  did  not  even  afford  an 
opportunity  to  judge  of  the  efficiency  of  labor,  because  neither 
labor  nor  equipment  were  employed  on  the  basis  of  efficiency, 
but  purposely  on  the  basis  of  reduced  j)roductivity.  In  many 
cases  no  attempt  was  made  to  economize  on  labor  where 
economy  was  easily  possible,  because  the  object  of  the 
change  was  to  keep  as  many  laborers  employed  as  could  be 
kept  without  increase  of  expense. 

Nevertheless,  it  has  been  reported  to  the  investigator  that 
many  laborers  were  dispensed  with  because  a  smaller  crew 
in  eight  hours  could  do  the  same  work  as  a  larger  crew  in 
twelve  hours.  In  one  or  two  cases  the  crews  were  reduced 
at  the  suggestion  of  the  men  themselves.  All  this  was  under 
circumstances  very  adverse  to  increased  efficiency  and  with- 
out introducing  any  additional  labor-saving  mechanical  de- 
vices. It  was  an  illustration  of  what  might  be  called  involun- 
tary and  uninspired  increase  of  efficiency  due  to  the  shorter 
day.  It  was  not  a  fair  criterion  of  what  improvements  in 
labor  productivity  might  have  been  achieved  if  the  manage- 
ment had  planned  carefully  in  advance  and  carried  through 
the  change  with  executive  skill  and  a  desire  to  effect  an 
improvement  which  would  give  permanent  relief  to  the  men. 
The  maximum  hours  worked  by  approximately  one-fifth  of 
the  workers  in  the  iron  and  steel  industry — twelve  hours  per 
day,  eighty-four  hours  per  week,  and  4,383  hours  per  year — 
are  to  be  compared  with  2,500  hours  per  year,  the  maximum 
which  any  man  is  permitted  to  work  in  the  Ford  Motor  Com- 
pany, including  the  iron  blast-furnace  dci^artmcnt. 

Some  authorities  will  contradict  at  once  the  statement 
that  the  increase  of  efficiency  in  the  cases  referred  to  was 
''involuntary  and  uninspired."  They  will  declare  that  the 
increased  eagerness  to  work  was  insi)ired  by  the  men's  knowl- 
edge that  their  jobs  were  in  jeopardy;  that  a  large  gang  of 
unemployed  was  waiting  outside  the  gate  to  take  the  place 


CHANGING   TO  THREE  SHIFTS  239 

of  any  man  whose  work  was  unsatisfactory ;  that  the  increased 
efficiency  of  labor  was  in  direct  ratio  to  the  size  of  this  gang 
seeking  employment;  that  it  was  this  inspiring  object  lesson 
rather  than  shorter  hours  of  work  or  longer  hours  of  rest 
which  was  the  real  motive  force  within  the  laborers  that  im- 
pelled them  to  greater  efforts.  If  this  be  true,  then  it  only 
remains  for  the  technical  staff  to  perpetuate  the  inward  im- 
pelling motive  to  work  at  the  peak  of  the  laborer's  ability,  and 
at  the  same  time,  to  take  advantage  of  the  greater  ability  to 
work  which  comes  with  shorter  hours  and  longer  rest. 

Failure  Through  LacJc  of  Cooperation. 

Mention  should  be  made  here  of  the  experience  of  a 
plant  which  did  change  to  the  three-shift  system  after 
planning  by  the  management  and  with  the  hope  of  effecting 
a  permanent  improvement  in  the  long  hours  worked  by  its 
men.  When  the  labor-demand  of  the  industry  in  the  same 
district  began  to  increase,  the  laborers  at  the  plant  in  question 
began  to  desert  them  for  plants  where  they  could  get  twelve 
hours'  work  with  twelve  hours'  pay.  Some  of  their  best 
men  were  leaving,  and  in  self-defense  the  management 
changed  back  to  the  twelve-hour  shift  in  several  departments. 
The  news  of  this  experience  naturally  spread  very  fast  among 
executives,  and  spread  the  fear  of  the  three-shift  system. 

The  management  of  the  plant  in  question  received  the 
investigator  very  courteously  and  gave  him  all  the  informa- 
tion about  the  situation  which  could  have  been  asked.  No 
possible  criticism  could  have  been  made  of  them  for  any 
■unwillingness  to  answer  questions  which  concerned  their  lack 
of  success  with  their  plans  for  the  three-shift  system — ques- 
tions which  so  vitally  touched  their  competitive  position  in 
the  industry.  So  far  as  could  be  lonrned,  however,  their 
lack  of  success  was  due  chiefly  to  the  fact  that  they  wero 
unable  to  secure  the  cooperation  of  their  men.    Perhaps  this 


240    THE  TWELVE-HOUR  SHIFT  IN  INDUSTRY 

failure  was  due  to  the  temper  of  the  men  rather  than  any 
fault  of  the  management;  there  are  reasons  for  believing 
that  this  may  have  been  so.  The  wholly  impersonal  and 
technical  conclusion  is,  however,  that  this  lack  of  cooperation 
was  alone  sufficient  to  defeat  the  meritorious  attempt  on  the 
part  of  the  management. 

Other  contributing  causes  were  that  the  management  did 
not  give  enough  study  to  the  question  of  etjuipment,  to  the 
lightening  of  i)eak  loads  by  mechanical  appliances  and  did 
not  make  the  change  with  sufficient  deliberation  and  gradual- 
ness.  Neither  had  they  correctly  anticipated  the  necessity 
of  capital  expenditure  which  would  have  successfiilly  solved 
some  of  the  apparently  insoluble  problems  which  were 
encountered.  It  may  be  that  these  conclusions  are  mistaken, 
but  if  this  is  the  case,  it  is  because  the  management  was  not 
free  to  give  the  information  which  would  have  corrected  the 
misapprehensions. 

The  name  and  identity  of  this  plant  must,  for  obvious 
reasons,  be  concealed;  it  has  not  been  mentioned  to  anyone 
in  connection  with  the  conclusions  formed,  nor  is  the  descrip- 
tion here  given  sufficient  to  identify  it  among  others. 

The  Question  of  Labor — Summary. 

Summarizing  the  condition  of  available  labor  for  the 
tliree-shift  system: 

1.  The  plants  which  have  adopted  the  three-shift  system 

and  are  paying  wages  a  little  lower  than  are  paid 
at  corresponding  plants  working  twelve-hour  shifts 
have  sufficient  labor,  both  skilled  and  unskilled. 

2.  The  management  of  these  plants,  in  the  majority  of 

cases,  believe  that  they  attract  a  better  class  of  labor 
because  of  the  shorter  hours. 

3.  The  executives  believe  that  the  superior  labor  and 


CHANGING   TO  THREE  SHIFTS  241 

the  full  supply  of  labor  comes  to  them  because  of, 

not  ill  spite  of,  the  eight-hour  day. 
4.  Every  executive  interviewed  who  has  had  sufficient 

actual  experience  with  both  systems  to  speak  with 

authority  declares  in  emphatic  terms  that  the  labor 

turnover  is  much  less  on  the  three-shift  system  than 

it  is  on  the  two-shift  system. 
6.  Sufficient  skilled  labor  can  be  trained  in  the  plant  if 

the  change  is  made  with  the  cooperation  of  the  men, 

and  if  it  is  made  gradually. 
6.  It  is  not  necessary  to  pay  a  full  twelve-hour  wage  to 

skilled  labor  in  order  to  get  a  sufficient  number  to 

work  the  eight-hour  shift. 

Other  Points. 

Other  items  might  be  listed  but  require  only  brief 
mention  at  this  point.  Labor-saving  appliances  are  discussed 
under  the  head  of  the  different  departments,  such  as :  blast- 
furnace, open-hearth,  etc.  The  subject  of  ''bottle  necks"  is 
obvious  and  requires  no  special  discussion,  besides  being 
usually  individual  to  each  plant.  "Peak  loads"  are  con- 
sidered in  Chapter  XIX.  The  wisdom  of  deliberation  in 
making  the  change  to  the  three-shift  system  is  noted  in 
several  places  in  this  study. 

EESULTS  TO  BE  SECURED,  TO  MAKE  COMMERCIAL  SUCCESS 

If  it  be  assumed  that  labor  must  be  paid  a  little  higher 
rate  per  hour,  or  per  ton,  in  order  to  bring  about  the  change 
to  shorter  hours  without  too  much  discontent,  then  one  or 
more  of  the  following  improvcnicnts  must  be  realized  if  the 
change  is  to  be  a  coiumercial  success: 

1.  There  must  be  an  increased  output  per  man  per  hour 
in  order  to  partly  offset  the  increased  labor  rate. 


242    THE    TWELVE-HOUR  SHIFT  IN  INDUSTRY 

2.  There  must  be  a  gradual  improvement  in  the  type  or 

intelligence  of  labor  attracted  to  the  industry.  This 
improvement  will  not  be  observed  of  course,  except 
after  a  period  of  years. 

3.  The  quality  of  the  product  as  a  whole  must  improve, 

or  else,  the  proportion  of  first  quality  product 
as  compared  with  second  and  third  quality  product 
must  increase. 

4.  There  must  be  less  waste  of  materials  in  process.   This 

means,  for  example,  pig  iron  scrap  at  the  blast 
furnace;  sloppings,  spillings,  and  short  ingots,  in 
the  steel  mills ;  cobbles,  off-size  product,  unnecessary 
croppings,  clippings,  in  the  rolling  mills. 

5.  There  must  be  decreased  use  of  materials  for  linings, 

or  other  parts  of  the  apparatus  or  equipment. 

6.  There  must  be  a  decrease  in  the  number  or  the  serious- 

ness of  repairs. 

7.  There  must  be  fewer  interruptions  of  the  processes 

because  of  delays  due  to  errors  of  judgment;  to 
lack  of  perfect  coordination  between  the  different 
departments  or  mills;  to  lack  of  attention,  care, 
etc. 

8.  There  must  be  fewer  accidents  to  men.    A  little  reflec- 

tion will  convince  one  that  this  is  a  technical  as 
well  as  a  humanitarian  consideration.  Accidents 
decrease  the  attractiveness  of  the  type  of  labor,  thus 
influencing  the  supply  of  labor;  they  cause  delays, 
lack  of  attention,  decrease  in  morale,  and  temporary 
demoralization. 

9.  There  must  be  better  conduct  of  the  operations — for 

example,  less  ''pigging  up"  in  the  open-hearth. 
10.  There  must  be  greater  regularity  or  uniformity  of  the 
processes. 


CHANGING  TO  THREE  SHIFTS  243 

11.  There  must  be  less  absence  from  work,  and  less  tardi- 

ness. 

12.  There  must  be  decrease  in  labor  turnover,  which  will 

save  at  the  employment  office  and  also  in  the  operat- 
ing department  through  lessening  the  inconvenience 
and  waste  of  working  new  men  at  intervals. 

Trohahility  of  These  Results. 

While  there  are  operators  who  will  deny  the  probability 
of  every  one  of  these  compensating  economies,  the  actual 
condition  is  that,  wherever  the  three-shift  system  has  been  put 
into  operation  in  accordance  with  good  technical  practice, 
as  outlined,  some  of  these  desiderata  have  been  realized,  thus 
offsetting,  at  least  in  part,  the  extra  cost  due  to  the  increased 
labor  rate.  Unfortunately  it  is  not  possible  to  give  figures  to 
show  how  near  to  100  per  cent,  this  compensation  is.  In 
many  cases  plants  are  not  in  possession  of  exact  figures.  In 
other  cases  the  change  was  made  during  a  period  of  labor 
surplus,  when  the  efficiency  of  labor  was  increased,  as  already 
noted  on  page  238,  by  psychological  influences,  quite  inde- 
pendent of  the  three-shift  system.  Finally,  the  manage- 
ment in  some  cases  takes  the  stand,  properly  enough,  that 
figures  of  this  nature  are  quite  confidential.  Many  estimates 
have  been  given  informally  by  those  having  exjjerience,  and 
they  vary  all  the  way  from  a  compensation  greater  than  the 
increased  cost  to  one  of  only  one-third  of  the  increased  cost. 

A  Reasonable  Mmimum. 

It  would  not  be  quite  fair,  of  course,  to  use  even  this 
last  figure  as  the  basis  of  definite  estimates,  but  I,  personally, 
believe  that  it  represents  the  minimum  that  may  be  expected 
under  good  normal  conditions  for  the  change.  This  opinion 
is  based  upon  observations  and  many  opinions  given  to  me 


244    THE    TWELVE-HOUR  SHIFT  IN  INDUSTRY 

during  some  weeks  of  study  and  observation  at  plants  of  the 
following  types: 

1.  Two-shift  plants  which  never  tried  three  shifts. 

2.  Two-shift  plants  which  tried  three  shifts  and  changed 

back. 

3.  Three-shift  plants  whose  management  is  well  satisfied 

with  the  results  achieved. 

The  opinion  is  offered  for  what  it  is  worth,  with  a  state- 
ment of  the  basis  on  which  it  is  founded. 

Instances  of  Lasting  Success  with  Three  Shifts. 

That  there  are  plants  which  have  been  in  operation  for 
several  years  with  evident  success  is  a  fact  which  strongly 
supports  the  favorable  opinion  just  exjn-essed.  The  oppo- 
nents of  the  three-shift  system  maintain,  however,  that  some 
special  circumstance  operates  in  each  such  case,  which  pre- 
vents our  accepting  this  favorable  conclusion  as  applical)le 
to  the  industry  in  general.  Now  there  are  special  circum- 
stances operating  in  every  iron  and  steel  district  of  the 
United  States  which  give  that  district  an  advantage  over  its 
competitors:  for  instance,  the  Birmingham  District  has  a 
favorable  labor  rate  and  low  assembly  cost,  and  the  Pitts- 
burgh District  has  a  low  fuel  cost.  These  advantages  are, 
in  some  cases,  greater  than  the  total  labor  cost  per  ton 
of  pig  iron,  for  example. 

Furthermore,  we  have  blast  furnaces  operating  on  the 
three-shift  system  and  producing  pig  iron  in  competitive 
centers  at  lower  than  the  market  cost;  we  have  open-hearth 
furnaces  operating  on  the  three-shift  system  producing  steel 
castings  in  direct  competition  and  paying  dividends;  we 
have  Bessemer  mills  at  large  plants  which  have  for  years 
been  employing  some  types  of  skilled  Inbcr  on  the  tlireo-shift 
basis  with  satisfaction  to  the  management  and  stockholders  J 


CHANGING  TO  THREE  SHIFTS  245 

we  have  rolling  mills  which  employ  the  three-shift  system  at 
an  actual  saving  in  labor  cost  (see  page  24).  Therefore, 
we  may  assume  that  it  is  possible  to  employ  the  three-shift 
system  with  some  degree  of  technical  and  economical  auccess. 

Failure  if  Cmiditions  Are  Wrcnig. 

It  is  manifest,  however,  that  the  three-shift  system  may 
be  employed  with  a  conspicuous  lack  of  both  technical  and 
economical  success. 

In  the  first  place,  success  is  least  likely  if  the  change  is 
made  at  a  time  when  most  pressure  is  put  upon  management 
to  shorten  the  hours  of  labor.  Good  results  cannot  be  ex- 
pected if  the  change  is  made 

1.  Merely  on  the  demand  of  the  men,  or  under  pressure 

of  the  Government; 

2.  During  a  time  of  labor  unrest ; 

3.  When  labor  is  arrogant,  or  elated  by  a  victory. 

In  the  second  place,  good  results  cannot  be  expected  if 
the  transition  is  made  too  abruptly,  that  is,  if  too  many 
changes  are  made  sinmltaneously. 

Unfortunate  Results  in  Europe. 

The  disastrous  results  of  the  shortening  of  the  hours  of 
labor  in  thirteen  European  countries  shortly  after  the  close 
of  the  World  War,  contrasted  with  the  contrary  experience 
in  those  American  plants  where  the  change  was  made  under 
the  right  conditions,  furnish  all  the  evidence  we  need  to 
prove  the  truth  of  these  statements.  In  every  European  in- 
stance three  of  the  undesirable  conditions  mentioned  above 
existed — sometimes  four  of  them — and,  in  addition,  the  labor 
situation  had  been  made  st^ill  worse  by  the  killing  otT  of 
many  of  the  younger  and  more  active  men  in  the  War.     The 


246    THE  TWELVE-HOUR  SHIFT  IN  INDUSTRY 

results  of  the  change  in  European  countries  were  published 
by  The  International  Labour  Office,  Geneva,  Switzerland 
(American  Correspondent,  Ernest  Greenwood,  618  Seven- 
teenth Street,  N.  W.,  Washington,  D.  C),  in  a  "Preliminary 
Memorandum,"  issued  May  5,  1922,  and  commented  upon 
in  The  Iron  Age  of  May  18,  1922,  Even  the  most  superficial 
study  of  the  data  furnished  demonstrates  that  the  European 
labor  situation  was  so  bad  that  industry  could  not  have  been 
carried  on  successfully  under  any  circumstances,  much  less 
when  a  drastic  change  was  brought  about  as  the  result  of 
strife  between  labor  and  capital.  Everywhere  labor  condi- 
tions were  unsettled;  political  and  industrial  relations  in 
many  cases  approached  bolshevism;  strikes,  riots,  violence, 
preceded  the  victory  of  labor  which  forced  the  change  to  the 
three-shift  system,  and  left  labor  in  an  arrogant  attitude 
which  destroyed  discipline.  In  some  cases  the  laborers  ex- 
torted the  eight-hour  shift  from  the  management  of  the  steel 
works,  and  then,  instead  of  using  the  extra  hours  for  rest  and 
recreation,  took  additional  employment  in  other  works  to 
increase  their  income;  naturally  there  was  no  increase  of 
efficiency,  because  the  men  wore  doing  double  duty.  The 
management  was  at  the  mercy  of  the  men  and  the  ordinary 
rules  of  discipline  could  not  be  enforced. 

There  was  an  increase  of  wages  from  the  pre-war  level 
because  of  the  deterioration  in  the  value  of  the  money,  but 
no  account  was  taken  of  this  circumstance  in  the  report  made 
by  some  of  the  countries  as  to  the  change;  while  it  seemed 
to  indicate  an  increase  of  cost  due  to  the  three-shift  system, 
it  was  in  reality  quite  independent  of  the  change  of  system. 
The  efficiency  of  labor  had  been  reduced  by  years  of  ill-nour- 
ishment in  war  times  and  underfeeding  during  the  period 
when  the  results  were  observed.  Moreover,  the  increased 
efficiency  of  the  men  on  shorter  hours,  if  any,  would  not  have 
been  effective  in  most  cases,  because  the  market  was  so  bad 


CHANGING  TO  THREE  SHIFTS  247 

that  the  plants  could  not  sell  their  output  if  they  increased  it 
and  because,  according  to  reports  in  many  cases,  the  quality 
of  raw  materials  was  inferior,  and  the  fuel  was  inferior,  or 
insufficient  in  amount,  or  both. 

Finally,  the  management  was  at  the  mercy  of  the  men, 
and  the  ordinary  rules  of  discipline  could  not  be  enforced.  In 
several  instances  plants  complained  that  the  labor  situation 
was  so  disturbed  and  imsatisfactory  that  men  arrived  at  the 
works  late  and  left  before  the  shift  was  over ;  the  men  took 
less  interest,  deliberately  decreased  their  energy  and  activity, 
wasted  tools  and  materials,  and  absented  themselves  from 
work  without  notice.  In  some  cases  the  reports  from  the 
several  countries  say  in  so  many  words  that  no  deductions 
can  be  drawn  from  the  result  because  of  the  demoralization 
of  labor.  The  report  from  Spain,  for  example,  shows  an  in- 
crease in  cost  of  50  per  cent,  to  400  per  cent.,  due,  as  stated 
there,  not  to  the  three-shift  system,  but  to  tremendous  wage 
increases  brought  about  by  strife  and  riots. 

Some  Bright  Spots  in  Europe. 

Nevertheless,  it  is  to  be  noted  that  in  the  midst  of  this 
black  picture  many  instances  were  met  of  increased  labor 
efficiency.     The  fact  is  very  encouraging. 

Thus  the  Minister  of  Labor  of  Belgium  reports  that  the 
increase  of  labor  force  consequent  on  the  change  to  the  three- 
shift  system,  instead  of  being  50  per  cent.,  as  might  be  ex- 
pected was  as  follows: 

At  blast  furnaces,  4G  per  cent. 

Open-hearth  mills,  22  per  cent. 

Basic  Bessemer,  24  per  cent. 

Rolling  mills,  20  per  cent. 

In  Finland  there  was  an  increase  of  production  of  about 
30  per  cent.,  and  the  labor  increase,  instead  of  being  50  per 
cent,  was  between  5  per  cent,  and  30  per  cent.,  and  there  was 


248    THE  TWELVE-HOUR  SHIFT  IN  INDUSTRY 

a  saving  of  fuel  of  about  15  per  cent.  This  notwithstanding 
the  facts  that  the  men  were  more  subject  to  agitation  during 
their  extra  hours  of  leisure;  that  they  were  more  tardy,  and 
allowed  outside  interests  to  interfere  with  their  work.  In 
England  the  open-hearth  production  increased  between  14 
per  cent,  and  18  per  cent,  notwithstanding  that  inferior  raw 
materials  and  disturbances  on  account  of  demobilization  in- 
terfered with  output.  In  Italy  the  increase  in  the  number 
of  workers  was  only  between  20  per  cent,  and  50  per  cent., 
and  the  increase  of  labor  cost  between  35  and  50  per  cent.  In 
Jugo-Slavia  one  rolling  mill  increased  its  production  by  15 
per  cent,  and  a  wire  mill  produced  20  per  cent,  more,  conse- 
quent on  the  change  to  three  shifts.  In  Roumania  about  30 
per  cent,  more  men  are  now  required.  In  Spain  the  number 
of  men  required  has  increased  by  from  25  to  50  per  cent.,  and 
where  good  discipline  prevails,  output  per  man  has  increased 
by  7  to  10  per  cent. 


CHAPTER  XVIII 
LABOR  COSTS   AND   TOTAL   COSTS 

LABOR  COST  PER  TON— LIMITATIONS  AND  POSSIBILITIES 

It  is  obvious  that  wages  must  be  increased  by  50  per  cent, 
per  hour  if  men  are  to  make  as  mucb  per  day  when  they 
work  eight  hours  as  when  they  work  twelve  hours.  If  men 
are  paid  according  to  tonnage,  then  the  rate  of  pay  per  ton 
must  increase  50  per  cent,  provided  they  are  unable  to  make 
a  greater  tonnage  per  hour.  Now,  let  us  assume  temporarily 
that  they  cannot  make  more  toimage  per  hour  than  they  are 
already  making.  This  may  not  be  a  function  of  the  men's 
efficiency,  but  may  be  due  either  to  the  fact  that  the  maximum 
capacity  of  the  equipment  has  been  reached  or  to  the  fact  that 
the  limit  of  possible  sales  has  been  attained. 

Three  Methods  of  Meeting  Three-shift  Requirements. 

Under  these  circumstances,  one  of  three  courses  may  be 
pursued : 

1.  The  management  may  employ  50  per  cent,  more  men 

and  pay  their  wages  out  of  profits. 

2.  The  number  of  men  employed  may  be  increased  50  per 

cent,  and  the  wages  of  all  reduced  SSVs  per  cent., 
thus  leaving  profits  the  same. 

3.  The  number  of  men  employed  may  be  increased  50  per 

cent.,  and  wages  per  day  (or  per  ton,  as  the  case 
may  be)   reduced  by  IGVs  per  cent.     Thus  labor 
249 


250    THE  TWELVE-HOUR  SHIFT  IN  INDUSTRY 

and  profits  each  lose  money,  share  and  share  alike. 
This  has  been  called  the  "fifty-fifty"  basis. 

All  three  of  these  methods  have  been  tried  with  success, 
in  particular  instances,  and  are  still  in  operation,  although, 
of  course,  wage  adjustments  have  occurred  in  some  cases 
since  the  change  was  made,  apparently  modifying  the  method, 
as  to  whether  it  is  the  first,  second,  or  third  of  those  men- 
tioned. 

'Larger  Costs — How  Far  Offset  hy  Savings  and  Profits. 

Enough  cases  are  on  record  in  which  the  three-shift  plan 
has  been  tried  here  in  the  United  States  and  has  been  con- 
tinued with  satisfaction  to  the  management  and  stockholders 
to  show  that  profits  can  be  made  with  labor  working  three 
shifts.  In  these  cases,  manifestly,  profits  must  have  been 
sufficient  to  pay  the  additional  labor  costs  which  have  been 
necessary.    This  may  be  due  to  either  of  two  causes : 

1.  Profits  must  have  been  great  enough  to  absorb  the 

50  per  cent,  increase  in  labor  costs  and  still  satisfy 
management  and  stockholders. 

2.  The  increase  in  labor  cost  must  have  been  less  than 

50  per  cent,  or  must  have  been  compensated  by 
savings  in  overhead,  repairs,  amortization,  waste, 
losses  due  to  inferior  product  or  similar  causes. 

To  precisely  what  extent  profits  are  decreased  and  cost 
of  production  increased  by  changing  labor  from  two  shifts  to 
three  shifts  cannot  be  made  public  without  violating  that 
secrecy  which  prevails  in  all  competitive  industries.  But 
Robert  A.  Bull,  in  a  paper  before  the  American  Foundry- 
men's  Association,  published  the  results  of  a  change  from 
two  shifts  to  three  shifts  on  the  open-hearth  furnaces  of  the 


LABOR  COSTS  AND  TOTAL  COSTS  251 

Commonwealth  Steel  Company  "which,"  he  says,  "indicates 
fully  a  more  economical  and  efficient  manipulation  of  both 
open-hearth  and  boiler  furnaces."  Major  Bull  is  an  ac- 
knowledged expert  and  authority  on  open-hearth  steel  manu- 
facture ;  twice  President  of  the  American  Foundrymen's  As- 
sociation. He  has  been  instrumental  in  changing  other  open- 
hearth  plants  from  two  to  three  shifts,  even  in  the  center 
of  America's  competitive  steel  industry,  the  Pittsburgh  Dis- 
trict. He  is  still  of  the  opinion  that  the  savings  in  cost  of 
operation,  quality  of  product  and  uniformity  of  operation  and 
output,  fully  compensate  for  the  expense  of  working  the 
"continuous-operation"  laborers  on  three  shifts  instead  of  two 
shifts.  This  opinion  is  based  on  the  "fifty-fifty"  basis ;  that 
is,  labor  and  profits  each  sharing  in  the  cost  of  employing  the 
extra  number  of  men  necessary.  It  is  also  predicated  on  the 
change  being  made  in  the  right  way  and  under  the  right  con- 
ditions, as  already  explained  in  Chapter  XVIL 

In  this  opinion  of  the  possible  savings  equalling  the  extra 
cost,  Major  Bull  is  supported  by  at  least  two  other  steel 
experts,  and  one  blast-furnace  operator.  It  is  right  to  state, 
however,  that  other  executives  express  the  belief  that  the  cost 
of  three  shifts  is  slightly  greater  than  the  cost  of  two  shifts, 
especially  if  the  total  extra  labor  cost  is  to  come  out  of  profits. 
(In  this  connection,  as  to  blast  furnaces,  see  pages  275-G.) 


LABOR  COSTS  IN  EELATION  TO  TOTAL  COSTS  OF  IRON  AND 
iSTEEL  PRODUCTS 

It  is  a  common  observation  that  90  per  cent,  of  the  total 
cost  of  iron  or  steel  is  of  labor.  Some  one  might  then  argue 
that  increasing  the  labor  costs  by  25  per  cent,  would  increase 
the  total  costs  22,5  per  cent.  In  actual  results,  however,  the 
figures  do  not  work  out  that  way,  unless  we  increase  the  labor 


252    THE  TWELVE-HOUR  SHIFT  IN  INDUSTRY 

cost  right  through  from  ore  in  the  ground.     Let  us  illustrate 
this  by  an  example  of  cost  of  making  pig  iron : 

Cost  of  Making  Pig  Iron 

Per  ton 

Raw  materials $9.31 

Flux 56 

Fuel.- 4.68 

Operating  labor 1 .  27 

Overhead  and  other  expenses .79 

Total  cost $16.61 

On  this  basis  the  labor  cost  appears  as  only  Y.7  per  cent, 
of  the  total  cost. 

It  may  be  urged,  of  course,  that  overhead  and  materials 
are  also  composed  chiefly  of  labor,  which  makes  the  total  cost 
consist  chiefly  of  labor.  However,  from  the  standpoint  of 
cost  involved  in  adopting  the  three-shift  system,  we  may  dis- 
regard the  labor  cost  of  raw  materials  and  flux,  as  well  as 
overhead,  because  they  are  not  manufactured  by  "continuous- 
operations."  No  changes  would  occur  in  these  cost  items  if 
all  the  "continuous-operations"  were  changed  from  the  two- 
shift  to  the  three-shift  basis.  It  is  true  that  the  operation  of 
making  coke  from  coal  is  a  "continuous-operation,"  but  the 
labor  cost  of  this  also  is  but  a  fraction  of  the  cost  of  the  fuel. 


Labor  Cost  Only  a  Small  Proportion  of  Total  Cost.- 

The  cost  of  making  pig  iron  quoted  above  is  the  cost  of 
making  119,081  tons  of  pig  iron  in  the  year  1907,  and  is 
taken  from  "Tariff  Hearings  Before  the  Committee  on  Ways 
and  Means  of  the  House  of  Representatives,  Schedule  C, 
Part  1,"  page  1421.  These  cost  figures  are,  of  course,  now 
long  out  of  date;  costs  have  increased  since  that  time,  but 
there  has  been  no  material  change  in  the  relation  of  operating 


LABOR  COSTS  AND  TOTAL  COSTS  253 

labor  costs  to  total  costs ;  whatever  change  there  has  been  has 
operated  to  decrease  the  relative  proportion  of  labor  costs. 

In  other  words,  considering  the  blast-furnace  operation 
in  and  bj  itself,  the  labor  cost  is  not  more  than  8  per  cent,  of 
the  total  manufacturing  cost;  if,  therefore,  we  change  the 
blast  furnace  labor  to  the  three-shift  system  and  thereby  in- 
crease the  operating  labor  cost  per  ton  of  pig  iron  by  40  per 
cent,  we  would  only  increase  the  total  manufacturing  cost  by 
3.2  per  cent.  It  is  true  that  the  wages  of  blast-furnace  labor 
were  increased  almost  40  per  cent,  in  some  cases  when  the 
three-shift  system  was  adopted  in  the  United  States  in  1921 
by  companies  which  adopted  it  merely  for  the  purpose  of 
keeping  more  men  employed  and  made  no  special  effort  to 
effect  compensating  economies  in  operation,  but  so  large  an 
increase  as  40  per  cent,  is  not  necessary  when  the  change  is 
made  in  the  right  way,  as  already  pointed  out  in  Chapter 
XVII.  In  any  event,  it  is  evident  that  the  cost  of  pig  iron 
will  not  be  greatly  increased  by  changing  the  blast  furnaces 
to  the  three-shift  system. 

On  page  1766  of  the  "Tariff  Hearings"  just  referred  to 
we  have  the  average  cost  of  making  Bessemer  pig  iron  in  the 
United  States  from  1902  to  1906.  The  tonnage  represented 
is  51,900,000  tons.  The  proportion  of  labor  cost  to  total  cost 
is  5.5  per  cent.,  which  indicates  a  still  lower  figure  as  the 
cost  of  changing  to  the  three-shift  system. 

When  we  come  to  the  Bessemer  process  itself,  the  ease 
is  somewhat  different,  but  here  again  the  matter  is  not  very 
serious  in  cost  per  ton.  The  raw  material  is  pig  iron,  and 
its  cost  will  be  higher  because  of  the  labor  increase  in  that 
department  due  to  the  change  to  the  three-shift  system.  Then 
we  must  assume  that  the  operating  labor  in  the  Bessemer 
department  will  increase,  say,  25  per  cent.  Thus  we  may 
have  a  total  increase  in  cost  per  ton  of  5  to  5.5  per  cent,  maxi- 
mum. 


254    THE  TWELVE-HOUR  SHIFT  IN  INDUSTRY 

In  the  open-hearth  department  we  are  worse  off  for  the 
lact  that  operating  labor  is  about  7  per  cent,  of  the  total  cost 
per  ton,  but  this  is  offset  very  largely  by  the  fact  that  the  raw 
material  consists  on  the  average  of  at  least  50  per  cent,  of 
steel  scrap,  whose  price  is  determined  by  market  conditions, 
and  is  not  affected  by  the  three-shift  system.  Even  if  we  do 
not  effect  economies  in  practice  which  offset  a  good  part  of  the 
extra  wage-rate  due  to  the  three-shift  system,  the  increased 
cost  per  ton  will  be  only  a  little  over  a  dollar  per  ton.  The 
fact  is,  moreover,  that  a  good  deal  of  the  open-hearth  steel 
made  yearly  in  the  United  States  is  made  by  labor  already 
working  on  the  three-shift  system. 

In  the  rolling  mill  operations  which  concern  us — bloom- 
ing mills,  slab  mills,  billet  mills,  wire  rod  mills,  plate  mills, 
etc. — the  operating  men  on  "continuous-operations"  represent 
but  a  small  fraction  of  the  total  cost.  They  are  the  lever  men, 
who  operate  the  levers  that  actuate  the  rolls,  the  roll  tables, 
the  shears,  etc.,  the  heating  furnace  men,  etc.  It  is  true  that 
there  is  also  a  large  gang  of  crane  men,  maintenance  men — 
that  is,  the  millwrights,  electricians,  etc.,  who  keep  the  equip- 
ment in  order  and  the  laborers  who  are  called  upon  when 
needed  to  remedy  trouble — but  the  maintenance  men  and 
laborers  usually  work  but  a  small  part  of  the  time,  and  it  has 
been  found  possible  in  many  plants  to  work  them  on  two  ten- 
hour  shifts.  The  number  of  crane  men  and  lever  men  has 
been  a  good  deal  reduced  in  the  process  of  changing  from  the 
twelve-hour  work  day  to  the  three-shift  system. 

Obviously,  these  different  figures  will  vary  somewhat  for 
different  localities  and  even  for  different  plants  in  the  same 
general  locality.  But  this  is  true  of  all  costs.  For  example, 
Judge  Gary  testified,  in  June,  1922,  that  the  United  States 
Steel  Corporation,  which  has  plants  in  all  the  districts  of  the 
country  east  of  the  Mississippi  River,  could  produce  about 
three  dollars  per  ton  cheaper  than  the  independent  companies. 


LABOR  COSTS  AND  TOTAL  XOSTS  255 

This  represents  about  5  per  cent,  of  the  manufacturing  cost 
of  most  large  products.  The  economy  of  operation  is  not  a 
function  of  the  locality  of  the  plant. 

If,  therefore,  we  could  secure  technical  and  commercial 
advantages  through  the  adoption  of  the  three-shift  system 
no  greater  than  the  advantages  which  the  Steel  Corporation 
has  over  its  competitors,  the  economies  resulting  therefrom 
would  at  least  absorb  the  cost  of  the  added  labor,  without 
drawing  on  profits.  This  is  offered  to  show  that  we  are  not 
expecting  unreasonable  things  of  the  system  to  ask  it  to  make 
that  technical  advance,  through  increasing  the  efficiency  of 
labor  and  through  better  conduct  of  the  operation. 

INSTANCES  OF  LABOE  COSTS  LOWEE  WITH  THEEE-SHIFT 

PLAN 

Reference  has  been  made  to  the  opinion  of  experts  who 
believe  that  the  greater  efficiency  of  labor,  and  other  saving 
circumstances,  such  as  repairs,  overhead,  waste,  quality,  labor 
turnover,  etc.,  make  the  three-shift  system  an  economic  and 
commercial  advance.  But  these  opinions  cannot  be  supported 
by  figures  because  cost  figures  are  necessarily  surroimded  by 
the  utmost  secrecy.  And  the  opinion  of  those  who  think 
there  is  a  slight  balance  in  favor  of  the  three-shift  system  is 
opposed  by  the  contrary  opinion  held  by  others  who  also  have 
had  experience  with  both  systems.  However,  there  are  some 
instances  of  actual  labor  savings  which  have  been  communi- 
cated to  me  personally  wilh  permission  to  inclnde  them  here, 
on  the  understanding  that  no  company  names  are  mentioned. 

The  Rod  Roller, 

One  of  the  most  conspicuous  of  these  is  at  a  Garrett  wire 
rod  mill  in  a  competitive  center,  which  changed  from  two  to 
three  labor  shifts  several  years  ago,  and  is  still  operating  its 
"continuous-operation"  labor  on  eight-hour  shifts. 


256    THE  TWELVE-HOUR  SHIFT  IN  INDUSTRY 

The  work  of  a  rod  roller  at  Garret  mills  is  hazardous,  hot 
and  severe.  The  roller  stands  in  the  midst  of  three  or  four 
coils  of  white-hot,  rapidly  moving  bands  of  steel.  The  point  of 
metal  shoots  from  between  the  rolls  at  the  rate  of  about  a 
mile  a  minute  at  maximum  speed,  because  it  must  be  rolled 
so  fast  that  the  heat  produced  by  the  mechanical  kneading  of 
the  metal  shall  more  than  coimteract  the  radiation  from  the 
1-inch  section  of  rod.  It  is  actually  hotter  at  the  end  of  the 
rolling  than  it  was  when  it  came  from  the  furnace.  The  roller 
catches  it  deftly  in  his  tongs,  swings  the  end  around  in  a 
circle,  so  that  the  swiftly-moving  rod  forms  a  long  coil  on  his 
side  of  the  roll  train,  and  then  passes  it  back  between  the 
rolls,  to  be  caught  by  his  "buddy"  on  the  opposite  side.  This 
operation  must  be  performed  in  time  to  turn  back  and  catch 
the  next  rod  as  it  comes  through.  Always  there  are  several 
writhing  coils  on  both  sides  of  the  train  of  rolls.  The  least 
mistake  or  lack  of  attention  is  almost  certain  to  result  in  an 
accident  which  may  cause  loss  of  metal  being  rolled  or  of 
human  life. 

Obviously  this  work  requires  the  maximum  of  expertnes3 
and  attention,  and  it  is  universal  to  have  a  double  set  of  rollers 
on  each  twelve-hour  shift,  relieving  each  other  at  intervals. 
But  at  the  mill  now  in  question  the  double  crews  on  twelve- 
hour  shifts  were  changed  several  years  ago  to  single  crews  on 
eight-hour  shifts,  with  a  saving  of  25  per  cent,  of  the  labor. 
This  saving  has  been  continued  ever  since,  with  apparent  suc- 
cess. 

It  is  not  the  function  of  this  discussion  to  comment  on  the 
humanitarian  aspect  of  the  change,  but  if  it  be  urged  that 
Buch  a  saving,  which  involves  working  men  under  severe 
strain  for  eight  hours  continuously,  is  a  hardship,  then  the 
answer  may  be  made  that  from  the  technical  standpoint,  we 
may  change  all  the  double  crews  on  twelve-hour  shifts  to 
single  crews  on  eight-hour  shifts  and  allow  each  of  them 


LABOR  COSTS  AND  TOTAL  COSTS  257 

relief  for  25  per  cent,  of  the  time — that  is,  for  two  hours  out 
of  every  eight-hour  shift — without  using  any  more  labor  than 
is  employed  at  present.  Each  man  would  work,  say,  one  hour 
and  then  be  relieved  for  twenty-four  minutes.  It  is  evident 
that  if  it  has  been  done  satisfactorily  for  so  many  years  with- 
out any  relief  for  eight  hours,  then  it  can  be  done  with  cor- 
responding increase  of  efficiency  if  five  rest  periods  of  twenty- 
four  minutes  each  are  interposed. 

Crane  Men. 

Another  example  of  saving  is  a  case  of  work  on  cranes 
which  was  very  severe  because  the  men  were  exposed  to  strong 
heat.  They  declined  to  work,  even  with  some  intervals  of 
relief  during  the  twelve-hour  shift,  unless  "oilers"  were  em- 
ployed to  take  care  of  the  motors  and  mechanism  on  the 
bridge.  But  when  the  eight-hour  shift  was  introduced,  they 
voluntarily  tended  both  levers  and  bridge  mechanism  with 
consequent  saving  of  25  per  cent,  of  the  number  of  men  em- 
ployed. 

In  another  case,  the  men  themselves,  in  a  spirit  of  good 
will  resultant  upon  the  introduction  of  the  eight-hour  shift, 
pointed  out  a  slight  change  whereby  three  men  per  turn 
could  be  reduced  to  two  men  per  shift.  It  is  true  that  in 
time  the  management  might  have  noticed  this  possible  saving 
itself,  but  it  had  not  done  so  for  years,  and  men  who  are 
closely  engaged  in  a  manual  operation  can  often  see  improve- 
ments which  an  onlooker  may  overlook. 

Pitmen  and  Bottom  Men. 

Two  other  instances  are:  pitmen  in  an  open-hearth  mill, 
where  two  men  working  the  twelve-hour  shift  were  replaced 
by  single  men  on  the  eight-hour  shift,  and  bottom  men  on 
soaking  pit  furnaces,  where  one  man  on  the  shorter  shift  re- 


258    THE  TWELVE-HOUR  SHIFT  IN  INDUSTRY 

placed  two  men  on  the  twelve-hour  shift.  The  open-hearth 
pitmen  work  around  the  hot  slag  and  keep  the  pit  clean; 
their  work  is  severe  both  physically  and  from  the  heat-en- 
durance standpoint.  A  somewhat  spectacular  account  of  this 
work  was  given  in  the  Atlantic  Mcnithly  for  May,  1922,  aa 
an  introduction  to  an  article  on  the  policies  and  practices  of 
the  U.  S.  Steel  Corporation.  The  soaking  pit  furnaces  heat 
steel  ingots  while  they  are  standing  on  end  preparatory  to 
rolling  them  to  blooms;  slag,  scale,  etc.,  collect  in  the  bottom 
of  these  furnaces,  and  the  work  of  cleaning  them  out  is  se- 
vere. In  this  case,  as  in  the  example  of  the  open-hearth 
"cinder  snappers,"  or  pitmen,  it  is  a  matter  of  opiuiou 
whether  two-man  crews  on  the  twelve-hour  shift  is  not  over- 
manning, and  one-man  crews  on  the  eight-hour  shift  is  not 
under-manning,  but  the  examples  are  here  cited  as  instances 
of  actual  experience. 

Other  Cases. 

There  are  other  cases  of  a  more  general  nature.  For  in- 
stance, the  management  of  a  plant  which  changed  from  two  to 
three  shifts,  and  has  been  working  the  shorter  shift  for  a 
period  of  years,  declares  that  less  labor  is  used  both  on  the 
open-hearth  platform  and  in  the  pit.  It  is  true  that  at  least 
a  part  of  this  saving  is  due  to  the  use  of  labor-saving  appli- 
ances which  might  have  been  installed  without  introducing 
the  three-shift  system,  but  there  are  a  very  groat  many  plants 
which  lack  some  or  all  of  these  labor-saving  appliances  and 
which  could  introduce  them  with  profit.  The  interest  and 
maintenance  charges  against  these  appliances,  plus  their  cost 
for  power,  constitute  only  a  small  fraction  of  the  labor  cost 
per  ton  of  metal  in  open-hearth  practice. 

A  second  plant  advises  me  of  its  experience  in  full  con- 
firmation of  the  result  stated  in  the  preceding  paragraph. 
Furthermore,  this  experience  proves  that  the  saving  is  due  at 


LABOR  COSTS   AND  TOTAL  COSTS  259 

least  in  part  to  the  increased  ability  and  efficiency  of  the  men 
working  the  shorter  shift,  quite  independent  of  the  labor- 
saving  appliances.  And  if  any  plant  management  in  the 
country  claims  to  be  as  fully  equipped  with  labor-saving  ap- 
pliances in  its  open-hearth  department  as  possible,  it  can  be 
asserted  confidently  that  this  's  not  so,  although,  doubtless, 
many  plants  believe  themselves  to  be  fully  equipped,  or  at 
least,  to  be  as  fully  equipped  as  the  plant  management  thinks 
economical. 

Still  another  plant  reports  that  its  rolling  mill  crews  in- 
creased their  efficiency  by  more  than  50  per  cent.,  after 
changing  from  two  to  three  shifts,  and  that  in  the  tin  house, 
the  number  of  men  on  accessory  operations  was  reduced  when 
the  change  was  made  from  twelve-hour  to  ten-hour  shifts.  It 
may  be  argued  that  the  improvement  was  possible  because 
this  particular  plant  was  below  the  standard  of  efficiency,  or 
of  discipline,  before  the  change,  but  there  appears  no  justifi- 
cation for  such  a  charge.  And  the  management  of  the  plant 
in  question  asserts  as  the  lesson  of  its  experience  on  two  shifts 
and  on  three  shifts,  that  wherever  the  work  is  very  taxing, 
either  from  the  physical  or  the  heat-exposure  conditions,  men 
can  do  as  much  work  in  eight  hours  as  they  can  do  in  twelve. 
This  assertion  is,  of  course,  quoted  here  as  bearing  upon  the 
evidence  under  discussion,  not  as  an  accepted  generalization. 
Other  executives — as  has  been  stated  previously — with  ex- 
perience with  both  systems  of  labor  employment,  declare 
that  men  do  not  produce  so  much  in  eight  hours  as  in  twelve 
hours. 

This  part  of  the  discussion  may  be  appropriately  con- 
cluded with  the  statement  of  a  technical  truth  which  wc  be- 
lieve is  universally  accepted,  namely :  that  what  can  be  tech- 
nically accomplished  in  one  or  two  instances  can  be  repeated 
as  a  matter  of  regular  prnctico,  ]u-ovi(lo(l  the  conditions  are 
understood  and  repealed.     Therefore,  if  these  examples  of 


260    THE  TWELVE-HOUR  SHIFT  IN  INDUSTRY 

labor  economy  can  be  made  at  any  plant,  they  can  be  made 
at  all  plants  where  the  same  conditions  are  repeated. 


INSTANCES  OF  LABOR  COSTS  HTGHER  BUT  TOTAL  COSTS 

LOWER 

There  are  at  least  two  instances  in  which  the  skill,  care, 
uniformity,  expertness  and  attention  of  the  workmen  have 
so  important  an  effect  on  the  cost  of  the  operation  that  it  has 
proved  economical,  in  some  cases,  to  work  them  eight  hours 
instead  of  twelve  hours.  It  cannot  be  asserted  that  it  is  uni- 
versally cheaper  to  pay  50  per  cent,  higher  labor  costs  per 
ton  of  product  for  these  skilled  operations,  but  only  that  it 
has  proved  cheaper  in  certain  cases  where  careful  records 
have  been  kept.  The  two  operators  in  question  are :  the  scale 
car  man  at  blast  furnaces,  and  the  blower  of  the  Bessemer 
converter.  Each  of  these  men  receives  a  wage  which  is  from 
a  fraction  of  a  cent  per  ton  of  product  to  about  two  cents  per 
ton  of  product.  A  slight  increase  in  expertness  or  attention 
on  the  part  of  either  may  save  several  times  the  wages  paid 
them.  If  the  converter  blower  comes  to  work  insufficiently 
rested  or  suffering  from  a  bilious  attack  the  temperature  of 
the  metal  and  the  percentage  of  second  quality  product  may 
vary  so  far  from  the  standard  as  to  run  into  hundreds  of  dol- 
lars in  a  day. 

There  is  a  difference  of  opinion  as  to  whether  the  shorter 
shift  will  make  an  important  difference  in  the  expertness  of 
the  blower,  but  careful  records  and  observation  in  one  case, 
and  general  experience  in  more  than  one  other  case,  have  con- 
vinced the  management  that  the  cost  of  the  shorter  shift  iB 
far  exceeded  by  its  savings.  This  conclusion  may  be  attacked 
on  technical  grounds,  and  therefore  a  little  space  given  to  it 
may  be  necessary. 


LABOR  COSTS  AND  TOTAL  COSTS  261 

The  Converter  Blower. 

The  converter  blower  is  the  man  who  judges  by  eye  the 
temperature  and  the  chemical  conduct  of  the  Bessemer  proc- 
ess. His  cooperation  is  encouraged  by  paying  him  a  wage 
based  on  the  product  of  the  Bessemer  mill.  His  observation 
of  the  flame  issuing  from  the  mouth  of  the  converter  deter- 
mines the  practice  as  to  increasing  or  decreasing  the  tempera- 
ture of  the  metal  in  the  converter  and  the  time  at  which  the 
operation  is  stopped.  His  skill  in  operating  the  levers  has 
its  effect  on  determining  the  percentage  of  waste  of  metal. 
His  control  over  the  time  when  a  vessel  is  put  into  service 
every  twenty  minutes  or  so  determines  the  regularity  with 
which  the  supply  of  metal  coming  into  the  mill  may  be  main- 
tained, so  as  to  give  the  least  interference  and  the  greatest 
rate  of  flow.  The  Bessemer  mill  is  run  on  the  principle  of 
a  cycle  of  short  operations,  repeated  a  great  many  times,  and 
each  adjusted  to  the  other  so  as  to  minimize  the  interferences 
and  delays.  On  the  regularity  with  which  the  ingots — or 
train  loads  of  ingot  cars — flow  from  this  mill,  depends  the 
economy  of  operation  of  the  rolling  mill  which  usually  it 
serves. 

It  has  been  said  of  some  skilled  operations  in  steel  mills 
that  they  are  performed  better  at  the  end  of  a  twelve-hour 
shift  than  at  the  beginning.  I  have  never  heard  this  said  of 
the  converter  blowing  and  my  own  observation  and  experi- 
ence of  several  years  would  oppose  such  an  assertion.  It 
might  be  said  that  if  the  blower  misused  his  extra  four  hours 
of  leisure,  he  would  do  his  work  w^orse  on  three  shifts  than  on 
two,  but  this  is  a  case  for  discipline.  It  happens  that  the 
supply  of  converter  blowers  is  ample  for  at  least  the  next  de- 
cade and  that  they  may  be  trained  without  special  difficulty. 
Discipline  may  bo  applied  better  on  the  three-shift  system 
than  on  the  two-shift  system  because  men  are  more  attracted 
to  these  jobs  when  the  hours  are  shorter. 


262    THE  TWELVE-HOUR  SHIFT  IN  INDUSTRY 

The  Scale  Car  Man. 

The  scale  car  man  at  the  blast  furnaces  operates  an  elec- 
tric larry,  which  travels  under  a  series  of  storage  bins  at  the 
back  of  the  furnace.  The  larry  receives  its  load  from  one  of 
these  bins,  weighs  it,  controls  the  weight  in  accordance  with 
the  "burden"  established  by  the  proper  official,  carries  it  to 
the  foot  of  the  furnace  and  dumps  it  into  the  charging  skip, 
which  in  turn  conveys  it  to  the  mouth  of  the  furnace.  Opera- 
tion of  the  larry  is  arduous  because  it  requires  care,  close  at- 
tention, and  is  of  a  monotonous  character. 

So  far  as  has  been  learned,  no  scale  car  men  are  able  to 
work  steadily  for  twelve  hours,  and  no  one  has  ever  said  that 
their  attention  or  regularity  was  better  at  the  end  of  a  twelve 
hour  shift.  The  regularity  with  which  the  furnace  is  charged 
is  the  chief  factor  in  determining  the  temperature  of  the 
top  gases,  and  affects  the  fuel  economy  of  the  operation.  In 
the  best  practice,  the  amount  of  coke  used  per  ton  of  pig  iron 
made  will  be  from  1,800  to  2,000  lbs. ;  this  will  cost,  say  seven 
dollars  per  ton  of  pig,  (Of  course,  this  rate  will  vary 
enormously,  depending  on  the  location. )  If  the  fuel  economy 
falls  off  as  little  as  1  per  cent.,  the  cost  per  ton  of  pig  would 
be  increased  seven  cents,  representing  thirt3'-five  dollars  to 
forty-five  dollars  loss  in  twenty-four  hours.  It  is  easy  to  see 
how  increased  loyalty  and  efficiency  on  the  part  of  the  scale 
car  man  can  run  into  profits  on  production. 

Therefore,  the  efficiency  of  the  scale  car  man  is  kept  up 
by  relieving  him  at  intervals  during  twelve-hour  shifts.  This 
is  done  in  at  least  three  different  ways.  He  may  be  allowed 
resting  periods,  with  the  result  that  the  stock-line  level  falls, 
the  top-gas  temperature  rises  in  consequence  and  a  certain 
loss  of  fuel  economy  is  endured.  Or,  secondly,  an  extra  man 
may  be  employed  for  a  group  of  several  blast  furnaces  who 
relieves  the  scale  car  men  in  succession,  besides  doing  other 
work,  such  as  keeping  stock  records.     Or,  finally,  the  skip 


LABOR  COSTS  AND  TOTAL  COSTS  263 

operator  may  relieve  the  scale  car  man  at  intervals,  which 
usually  involves  some  irregularity  in  the  operation  of  the 
charging  skip.  At  the  most  modem  furnaces,  however, 
records  are  kept  automatically  of  the  stock-line  level,  the  top- 
gas  temperature  and  the  regularity  of  operation  of  the  charg- 
ing skip,  and  discipline  is  applied  when  any  irregularity  in 
these  records  is  shown  and  cannot  be  properly  explained.  But 
it  is  the  observation  of  many  blast-furnace  superintendents 
that  regularity  cannot  be  maintained  on  the  twelve-hour  basis. 
Where  the  scale  car  man  works  only  eight  hours,  the  state- 
ment has  been  made  that  he  is  able  to  do  his  work  regularly 
and  continuously  for  his  whole  shift. 

Possible  Economies  in  Rolling  Mills. 

Such  slight  experience  as  has  been  collected  from  those 
who  have  employed  rolling  mill  labor  on  the  twelve-hour  shift 
and  the  eight-hour  shift,  indicates  -  a  decided  increase  of 
efficiency  of  the  lever  men,  when  working  on  the  shorter  shift, 
manifested  in  increased  output,  fewer  repairs,  and  less 
"cobbles"  (pieces  in  process  which  have  met  with  accident 
and  must  be  scrapped).  There  is  also  some  compensating 
economy  in  the  elimination  of  "spell  hands,"  who  take  the 
place  of  the  lever  men  at  intervals,  in  order  to  give  them  rest 
and  relief;  this  relief  is  necessary  on  the  twelve-hour  shift 
but  can  be  dispensed  with  in  part,  or  altogether,  on  the  eight- 
hour  shift. 


INSTANCES  OF  LABOR  COSTS  AND  TOTAL  COSTS  BOTH 
HIGHER 

Except  in  those  cases  where  we  can  show  a  saving  because 
of  increased  labor  efficiency  and  a  saving  on  account  of  im- 
proved qiudity,  regularity  of  operation,  etc.,  it  is  evident  that 
all  operations  of  the  iron  and  steel  industry  will  be  more 


264    THE  TWELVE-HOUR  SHIFT  IN  INDUSTRY 

costly  per  ton  of  output  when  working  three  shifts  than  when 
working  two  shifts.  There  are  many  cases  in  which,  as  will 
be  obvious  to  everyone  acquainted  with  the  subject,  it  is  not 
possible  to  lower  the  cost  per  ton  by  working  three  shifts  in- 
stead of  two  shifts.  For  example,  the  engineers  in  boiler 
houses  and  power  plants  have  very  little  to  do  except  watch 
and  tend  the  machinery  or  fires.  In  the  case  of  the  boiler 
houses,  better  attention  might  be  given  by  men  working  the 
shorter  shift,  and  better  attention  may  give  lower  costs,  but 
certainly  in  the  engine  room,  so  far  as  the  investigator  has 
learned,  the  operation  is  so  regular  and  break-downs  are  so 
infrequent  that  increase  of  efficiency  on  the  part  of  the  men 
could  have  little  result  in  lowering  costs.  The  subject  has 
been  considered  at  some  length  in  connection  with  this  study, 
but  it  does  not  seem  probable  that  a  difference  of  opinion  will 
be  met,  at  least  as  far  as  steel  works  power  plants  are  con- 
cerned, and  therefore  a  discussion  does  not  seem  warranted. 
The  amount  of  money  involved  is  not  very  large,  because  a 
few  engineers  are  spread  very  thin  over  a  great  tonnage  pro- 
duced in  a  large  plant,  and  if  a  change  were  made  to  three 
shifts,  it  would  doubtless  be  based  on  humanitarian,  political 
or  psychological  grounds. 

In  the  case  of  those  men  who  keep  the  equipment  in  good 
condition,  and  who  are  known  variously  as  maintenance  men, 
millwrights,  electricians,  it  is  now  common  practice — though 
not  universal — for  them  to  work  on  two  shifts  of  ten  hours  each, 
with  twelve-hour  shifts  only  in  cases  of  emergency.  Where 
they  have  been  employed  on  eight-hour  shifts  they  have  often 
abused  the  privilege  by  working  four  or  more  hours  at  out- 
side shops,  such  as  automobile  repair  shops,  electric  repair 
work,  etc.  Under  good  disciplinary  conditions  it  is  possible 
to  prevent  this,  because  it  is  recognized  as  unjust  both  to  the 
plant  that  employs  them  and  to  their  fellow-workmen,  but 
where  the  three-shift  system  results  from  a  victory  of  labor 


LABOR  COSTS  AND  TOTAL  COSTS  265 

over  the  management,  or  where  labor  is  arrogant  or  demoral- 
ized this  and  other  abuses  are  rampant.  This  is  clearly 
shown  in  the  "Preliminary  Memorandum  Prepared  by  the 
International  Labour  Office,  May  5,  1922."  (See  page  246.) 
Obviously,  in  the  cases  just  mentioned,  the  labor  costs 
per  ton  when  working  on  three  shifts  of  eight  hours  each, 
will  be  50  per  cent,  higher  than  those  when  working  on  two 
shifts  of  twelve  hours  each.  Some  assert  that  the  costs  are 
even  more  than  50  per  cent,  higher,  because  labor  is  even  less 
efficient  on  eight-hour  shifts  than  it  is  on  twelve-hour  shifts. 
This  assertion  may  be  true  in  the  experience  of  those  who 
make  it,  but  it  is  not  true  when  the  change  is  made  wisely 
and  the  conditions  are  understood. 


OTHER  PROCESSES  AND  DEPARTMENTS 

There  are  many  other  departments  of  the  iron  and  steel 
industry  to  which  only  incidental  reference  has  been  made 
in  this  book  because  they  are  either  already  operating  very 
largely  on  the  eight-hour  shift  in  general  principle,  or  else 
because  the  number  of  men  involved  is  small  in  comparison 
with  the  number  in  the  blast  furnaces,  the  open-hearth  mills 
and  the  rolling  mills.  Thus,  some  of  the  labor  in  the  Besse- 
mer mills  is  operated  on  the  eight-hour  shift,  some  on  two 
shifts  of  ten  hours  each.  Puddling  mills  and  crucible  steel 
departments  are  decreasing  in  number,  and  the  principle 
of  the  eight-hour  shift  is  largely  prevalent  in  them.  Some  of 
the  finishing  departments  operate  on  two  shifts  of  ten  hours 
each  and  some  operate  only  during  daylight  hours.  In  any 
event,  the  finishing  departments  would  probably  follow  the 
practice  of  the  prime  producers. 


CHAPTER  XIX 
THE  PEAK  AND  VALLEY  LOADS 

PEAK  LOADS CONDITIONS 

Regarding  the  elimiiiatiou  of  peak  labor  loads,  it  is  well 
to  note  that  the  severity  of  the  labor  involved  in  a  manual 
operation  may  be  due  either  to  great  physical  exertion  de- 
manded, such  as  carrying  heavy  loads  of  pig  iron  a  distance 
of  a  hundred  feet  or  so,  repeated  many  times  in  the  course 
of  two  hours ;  or  to  exposure  to  very  high  temperature,  such 
as  repairing  the  tap-hole  of  an  open-hearth  furnace;  or  to 
both  together,  such  as  cleaning  up  a  mess  of  semi-liquid  slag, 
or  shovelling  broken  metal  into  a  ladle  containing  one  hun- 
dred tons  or  more  of  white-hot  steel. 

If  we  could  know  just  when  peak  loads  would  occur,  it 
would  greatly  simplify  the  problem  of  carrying  them,  but  the 
peak  loads  which  result  from  break-downs  are  obviously 
going  to  occur  at  times  impossible  to  predict,  and  the  in- 
evitable irregularities  of  furnace  operation  bring  peak  loads 
sometimes  at  one  hour  of  the  day  and  sometimes  at  another. 
This  irregularity  prevents  the  handling  of  the  peaks  by  an 
extra  gang,  working  only  when  needed.  And  so  we  must 
always  have  on  hand  a  crew  of  men  sufficient  to  handle  the 
maximum  load  that  the  process  is  going  to  require,  with  the 
certain  result  that  some  or  all  of  these  men  nro  going  to  lack 
occupation  when  the  labor  requirements  of  the  operations 
are  small. 

Labor  Requirements. 

This  will  be  made  more  clear,  perhaps,  by  reference  to 
Fig.  1,  which  is  an  idealized  representation  of  peak  and  val- 
ley loads  at  a  furnace  during  a  twenty-four-hour  interval. 

266 


THE  PEAK  AND  VALLEY  LOADS 


267 


268    THE  TWELVE-HOUR  SHIFT  IN  INDUSTRY 

The  labor  requirements  of  the  process  are  indicated  by 
the  ordinates,  and  the  hours  of  the  day  by  the  abscissae;  the 
twelve-hour  shift  is  indicated  by  the  broken  line,  and  the 
eight-hour  shifts  by  the  dotted  lines.  The  curved  line  repre- 
sents the  labor  requirements  at  the  different  hours.  For 
simplicity  it  is  made  more  regular  than  will  usually  be  the 
fact.  From  this  curved  line  it  is  evident  that  the  maximum 
labor  requirement  is  ten  men;  and  therefore,  ten  men  must 
always  be  on  duty;  with  the  two-shift  system  this  means 
twenty  men  to  cover  the  twenty-four  hours;  with  the  three- 
shift  system  it  would  be  thirty  men.  Eut,  now,  if  we  could 
eliminate  the  peaks  in  the  labor  loads ;  smooth  them  out  and 
distribute  them  evenly  over  the  twenty-four  hours,  the  line 
E-F  would  represent  the  average  labor  requirement  of  the 
process,  and  six  men  would  handle  it.  That  is,  12  men  would 
be  required  per  day  on  the  twelve-hour  shift  or  eighteen  men 
per  day  on  the  eight-hour  shift,  fewer  than  are  required  to 
take  care  of  the  peak  loads  working  the  twelve-hour  shift. 

This,  then,  is  what  is  meant  by  the  peak  loads  involving 
the  necessity  of  having  men  on  hand  who  lack  occupation 
during  certain  phases  of  the  furnace  operation.  It  is  obvious 
that,  under  the  conditions  just  mentioned,  the  ten  men,  work- 
ing eight  hours,  cannot  exert  a  reasonable  amount  of  energy 
during  their  day's  labor. 

Partial  Belief  Through  Lahor-savung  Devices. 

It  is  also  evident  that  if  we  could  handle  the  greater  part 
of  all  the  peak  loads  by  labor-saving  devices,  as  few  as  four 
men  could  take  care  of  all  the  rest  of  tlio  labor  requirements 
and  would  w^ork  pretty  steadily  during  their  shift.  This 
achievement  would  solve  the  three-shift  problem  by  making 
the  practice  economical,  by  giving  each  man  steady  work  for 


THE  PEAK  AND  VALLEY  LOADS     269 

eight  hours  and  allowing  him  sixteen  hours  per  day  for  rest 
and  recreation.  It  would  also  make  the  labor  requirements 
so  constant  that  a  man  working  twelve  hours  would  be  un- 
fairly taxed,  and  the  usual  double  shift,  that  is,  the  twenty- 
four-hour  shift  which  comes  every  two  weeks  when  changing 
shift,  would  be  a  real  hardship. 

It  is  not  here  claimed  that  the  technical  advances  in  the 
iron  and  steel  industry  have  accomplished  so  much  as  is  in- 
dicated above  in  eliminating  almost  all  the  peak  load  by 
means  of  labor-saving  devices,  but  they  have  done  a  great 
deal.  For  example,  comparing  an  old-fashioned  blast  fur- 
nace, without  labor-saving  devices  with  a  modern  furnace 
equipped  as  it  should  be :  the  former  will  make,  say  two  hun- 
dred and  forty  tons  of  pig  iron  per  day  with  about  forty  men 
per  shift,  or  eighty  men  per  twenty-four  hours,  an  average  of 
three  tons  of  pig  iron  per  man  per  day.  The  modern  furnace 
will  make  six  hundred  tons  of  pig  iron  with  one-half  the 
number  of  men  to  do  the  same  work^ ;  an  average  of  fifteen 
tons  of  pig  iron  per  operating  man  per  day.  This  advance 
is  due  to  mechanical  and  other  labor-saving  devices  as  noted 
below,  page  272. 

It  is  true  that  even  with  this  advance  the  peak  loads  are 
not  yet  eliminated  from  the  blast-furnace  operation,  but  they 
are  greatly  reduced,  so  that  one  of  the  most  modern  of  Ameri- 
can blast  furnaces  keeps  its  men  steadily  occupied  on  what 
the  managemeiit  believes  is  economical  work  for  the  whole  of 
three  eight-hour  shifts  per  day.  (See  page  231.)  Further- 
more, the  management  of  this  furnace  believes  that  what  peak 
loads  do  occur  can  be  handled  with  slightly  fewer  men  work- 
ing the  oight-hour  shift  than  working  the  twelve-hour  shift, 
on  account  of  increased  efficiency  and  morale. 

*  This  does  not  include  power  house,  etc. 


270    THE  TWELVE-HOUR  SHIFT  IN  INDUSTRY 

Variation  in  Peak  Loads  According  to  Department. 

The  peak  and  valley  loads,  shown  in  Fig.  1,  are  not  ex- 
aggerated for  the  normal  practice  of  the  blast  furnace.  For 
the  open-hearth  furnace  the  irregularities  will  still  be  great, 
but  not  so  great  (under  good  modern  practice  of  labor-saving 
appliances)  as  at  the  blast  furnace,  except  when  accidents, 
delays  or  interruptions  occur.  In  the  case  of  the  Bessemer 
mill  and  the  rolling  mills,  the  normal  irregularities  are  still 
less,  but  especially  in  the  case  of  the  rolling  mills,  idle  periods 
due  to  break-downs,  with  consequent  peak  loads  for  the 
"maintenance  men,"  are  not  uncommon.  Now-a-days  they 
occur  much  less  frequently  than  a  decade  or  two  ago,  on  ac- 
count of  mechanical  improvements  and  use  of  electrical 
power.  They  are  a  great  source  of  added  expense  in  manu- 
facturing cost  per  ton  of  output,  not  so  much  on  account  of 
the  cost  of  repairs,  but  because  of  delays  and  interruptions, 
which  decrease  output  and  correspondingly  increase  overhead 
and  labor  expense  per  ton.  Any  added  efficiency  of  the  men 
as  regards  greater  care  or  alertness  in  preventing  accidents 
or  delays,  more  expert  operation  of  the  levers  to  increase  out- 
put, avoiding  mistakes  or  false  moves,  will  make  itself  evident 
immediately  in  improved  practice  which  lowers  costs. 

Advantages  With  Three-shift  System. 

Consider  now  the  question  of  peak  loads  occurring  nor- 
mally in  furnace  operations,  as  illustrated  in  Fig.  1.  A  peak 
load  will  be  noted  as  coming  at  the  eleventh  hour  of  the  first 
twelve-hour  shift ;  this  shift  is  already  fatigued  by  handling 
two  peak  loads ;  the  temptation  will  be,  if  not  actually  to  delay 
operations  so  as  to  defer  this  peak  load  until  the  next  crew 
comes  on  duty,  at  least  to  avoid  hastening  matters  so  as  to 
get  the  full  work  to  do.    This  is  not  a  theory ;  it  is  a  common 


THE  PEAK  AND  VALLEY  LOADS     271 

experience !  Even  a  loyal  foreman  cannot  have  the  same  re- 
gard for  the  dividends  of  an  absent,  and  almost  mythical, 
stockholder  as  for  the  fatigue  of  men,  who  in  hot  weather 
and  under  conditions  of  furnace  irregularity  are  sometimes 
in  a  pitiable  state  of  exhaustion. 

Those  who  have  not  seen  the  three-shift  system  in  suc- 
cessful operation  may  argue  that  whereas  this  delaying  of  the 
peak  load  so  as  to  "let  George  do  it"  can  come  only  twice  dur- 
ing the  twenty-four  hours  on  the  two-shift  system,  it  will  come 
three  times  on  the  three-shift  system,  and  that  the  result  will 
be  worse  delay  than  before.  Much  time  has  been  given  to 
studying  this  question  at  plants  working  on  the  three-shift 
system,  with  former  experience  on  the  two-shift  system,  and 
the  testimony  received  has  been  universally  in  favor  of  the 
three-shift  system,  for  four  reasons : 

1.  The  men  are  not  fatigued  by  eight  hours'  work;  the 

temptation  to  shirk  is  not  so  great. 

2.  Discipline  is  better ;  you  cannot  put  much  pressure  on 

a  man  when  he  is  so  tired  that  he  is  almost  ready  to 
quit. 

3.  A  long  rest  is  coming. 

4.  There  is  not  the  same  bitter  feeling  towards  the  work 

which  the  long  shift  sometimes  engenders. 

PEAK  LOADS  AT  BLAST  FURNACES— ECONOMIES  AND  AIDS 

When  a  modern  blast  furnace  is  tapped  and  one  hundred 
and  twenty-five  tons  of  liquid  metal  run  out  into  the  cast 
house,  the  labor  of  taking  care  of  this  product  is  immense,  as 
well  as  the  labor  of  making  the  cast  house  ready  for  the  cast. 
Even  the  labor  of  opening  the  tap-hole  used  to  be  great  on 
some  occasions,  but  this  is  now  minimized  by  the  use  of  oxy- 
gon to  burn  a  hole  through.     The  labor  of  closing  the  hole  is 


272    THE  TWELVE-HOUR  SHIFT  IN  INDUSTRY 

now  much  less,  on  account  of  the  use  of  the  "mud  gun"  to  do 
this  work. 

Improvements  in  Recent  Years, 

The  first  reduction  of  labor  in  the  cast  house  came 
through  the  use  of  jib  cranes  wherever  a  place  could  be  found 
to  support  them;  then  of  travelling  cranes  spanning  the  cast 
house ;  then  of  pig  breakers"  to  eliminate  the  sledge  hammer 
to  break  the  pigs  away  from  the  sow.  Finally,  the  cast  house 
was  dispensed  with  entirely  and  the  liquid  pig  iron  was  al- 
lowed to  run  directly  into  ladles  supported  on  railroad  cars, 
and  taken  away  from  the  blast  furnace  to  be  stored  in  reser- 
voirs until  wanted  at  the  steel  works,  or  else  cast  into  pigs 
in  mechanical  pig-casting  machines.  The  last  word  in  labor 
economy  is  to  get  the  runners  so  short,  by  good  design  of  the 
furnace  house,  that  we  shall  have  the  minimum  length  of 
"skull,"  because  some  iron  chills  in  these  runners,  forms  a 
"skull"  and  has  to  be  broken  up  and  disposed  of. 

The  cast  house  crew  used  to  consist  of: 

One  keeper. 

One  first  helper. 

Four  to  eight  assistant  helpers,  who  used  to  prepare  the 
"pig  beds"  to  receive  the  liquid  iron ;  open  and  close  the  tap- 
hole  ;  run  the  cast ;  look  after  the  runners,  etc. 

Four  to  eight  iron  carriers. 

One  "cinder  snapper." 

One  "scrap  man." 

One  man  to  look  after  the  hot  blast  stoves. 

This  crew  can  now  be  reduced  to: 

One  keeper. 

Two  helpers. 

One  "cinder  snapper." 

One  hot  blast  man. 


THE  PEAK  AND  VALLEY  LOADS  273 

When  working  eight  hours  instead  of  twelve,  the  crew 
is  reduced  to  four  men,  one  of  the  helpers  being  eliminated, 
and  it  is  even  said  that  it  might  be  reduced  to  three,  if  the 
runners  could  be  made  so  short  that  the  "mud  man''  and  the 
scrap  man  could  both  be  dispensed  with. 

Back  of  the  furnace  we  used  to  have  piles  of  ore,  flux,  and 
coke  from  which  piles  shovellers  filled  hand  buggies  which 
were  wheeled  to  the  foot  of  the  furnace,  weighed,  carried  up 
in  an  elevator,  and  dumped  into  the  top.  It  took  more  than 
twenty  men  to  do  this  work. 

Now-a-days  back  of  the  furnaces  is  a  long  line  of  bins, 
which  are  filled  directly  from  the  railroad  cars  which  bring 
them  to  the  plant,  or  else  by  great  gantry  cranes  which  span 
the  storage  piles  and  the  storage  bins.  Underneath  these 
bins  runs  an  electric  larry,  as  described  elsewhere, 
which  eliminates  much  manual  labor.  Instead  of  the  twenty- 
three  men  who  used  to  handle  eight  hundred  tons  of  material 
charged  into  the  furnace,  six  or  eight  men  now  handle  more 
than  2,000  tons  of  "burden"  or  "stock." 

Advantages  ^Yith  Three  Shifts. 

This  "stock  pile"  work,  or  filling,  is  not  subject  to  peak 
labor  loads,  as  is  the  work  in  front  of  the  furnace,  which 
increases  every  time  the  furnace  taps,  say  five  times  in 
twenty-four  hours.  Consequently  the  fillers  do  not  normally 
get  any  resting  periods  in  their  twelve-hour  shifts.  Theo- 
retically there  are  enough  men  to  overman  the  job,  and  the 
filling  crew  can  rest  at  intervals,  provided  the  furnace  is  kept 
always  full.  In  practice  it  usually  works  out  that  the  man- 
agement makes  a  concession  to  the  fillers  by  which  they  are 
allowed  a  half-hour's  rest  occasionally,  with  the  result  already 
noticed,  however,  of  some  reduction  in  furnace  efficiency. 


274    THE  TWELVE-HOUR  SHIFT  IN  INDUSTRY 

Contrast  this  with  the  practice  of  the  Ford  Motor  Com- 
pany's blast  furnace  at  River  Rouge,  which  is  run  on  an 
eight-hour  shift  and  a  forty-eight-hour  week.  An  automatic 
record  is  kept  of  the  height  of  the  stock  line  in  the  furnace, 
the  temperature  of  the  top  gases,  and  the  times  at  which  the 
charging  skip  makes  its  trips ;  any  deviation  from  regularity 
in  these  particulars  is  checked  up  and  explained.  The  high 
wages  and  short  hours  prevailing  there  make  it  possible  to 
enforce  the  most  rigid  discipline  where  necessary,  and  no 
concessions  of  furnace  efficiency  are  made  to  provide  resting 
periods  for  the  men.  Indeed,  resting  is  not  permitted;  the 
men  must  keep  occupied  during  the  full  hours  of  labor.  This 
applies  to  the  labor  in  front  of  the  furnace,  as  well  as  to  the 
fillers  and  stock  men. 

We  cannot  prove  that  a  lower  efficiency  of  stockline  level 
is  universal  in  connection  with  the  twelve-hour  shift,  nor  yet 
that  a  substantial  improvement  in  this  efficiency  would  pay 
the  labor  bill  for  an  extra  crew  to  work  the  eight-hour  shift, 
but  it  has  been  a  result  of  observation  that  the  stock-line  level 
is  maintained  more  nearly  uniform  in  the  plants  on  the  eight- 
hour  shift  than  in  those  on  the  twelve-hour  shift.  This  is  one 
of  the  ways  in  which  the  eight-hour  shift  can  help  pay  for 
itself,  and  reduction  of  the  crew  in  front  of  the  furnace,  and 
better  work  of  this  crew,  is  another  way.  Of  the  crew  of  men 
filling  the  furnace  only  about  five  out  of  the  six  or  eight  are 
today  working  on  a  twelve-hour  shift ;  the  others,  such  as  the 
men  who  keep  the  ore  pockets  (i.  e.  the  ore  bins)  full,  often 
work  two  shifts  of  ten  hours  each. 

It  will  be  noted  that  if  sufficient  labor  were  added  to  put 
all  the  blast-furnace  men,  now  on  twelve  hours,  on  an  eight- 
hour  basis,  the  increased  cost  would  only  be  about  thirty  cents 
to  forty  cents  per  ton  of  pig  iron,  even  if  no  compensating 
economies  were  secured  therewith.     (See  page  253.) 


THE  PEAK  AND  VALLEY  LOADS     275 

Additional  Economies  Possible. 

What  are  some  of  the  possible  economies  if  the  change 
were  made  ? 

1.  The  possible  reduction  in  some  of  the  crews  has  just 

been  mentioned. 

2.  So  has  the  increase  in  fuel  efficiency  due  to  more  uni- 

form charging  of  the  furnace. 

3.  The  elimination  of  the  "floating  gang"  would  reduce 

the  labor  bill.     (See  below,  page  278.) 

4.  Other  economies  are:  Fewer  absences;  less  tardiness; 

reduced  labor  turnover. 

5.  It  is  emphatically  asserted  by  blast-furnace  managers 

using  the  eight-hour  shift  that  the  higher  grade  of 
labor  attracted  by  shorter  hours,  greater  care  and 
alertness,  better  morale,  and  more  skillful  super- 
vision and  operation  are  all  reflected  in  a  saving  in 
cost  of  production,  greater  regularity  of  operation 
and  quality  of  product,  less  interruptions,  fewer  ac- 
cidents or  breakdowns,  and  less  need  of  costly  re- 
pairs to  machinery. 

Unfortunately,  cost  figures  are  highly  confidential  and 
cannot  be  quoted  or  published.  Therefore,  these  opinions 
cannot  be  supported  by  either  statistics  or  figures.  In  more 
than  one  case  furnace  operators  have  assured  the  investigator 
that  in  their  opinion,  the  cost  of  producing  pig  iron  is  less 
on  the  eight-hour  than  it  is  on  the  twelve-hour  shift. 

In  this  connection  it  is  permissible  to  quote  the  manage- 
ment of  the  Ford  Motor  Company  and  say  that  although  the 
blast  furnace  operates  on  the  basis  of  eight  hours  per  day  and 
forty-eight  hours  per  week  per  man,  and  labor  is  paid  sev- 
enty-five cents  and  upwards  per  hour,    as    compared    with 


276    THE  TWELVE-HOUR  SHIFT  IN  INDUSTRY 

twenty-seven  and  thirty  cents  per  hour  and  upwards  at  other 
plan  visited,  nevertheless  they  make  pig  iron  cheaper  than 
they  can  buy  it.  They  attribute  this  to  greater  efficiency  of 
labor  and  of  operation. 


PEAK  LOADS  AT  OPEN-HEARTH  FURNACES— ECONOMIES 
AND  AIDS 

In  old-fashioned  types  of  open-hearth  furnaces  where  the 
charge  is  inserted  by  hand  labor  there  is  every  reason  to 
believe  that  the  number  of  men  employed  in  three  crews 
working  eight  hours  each  would  be  no  greater  for  the  same 
amount  of  work  than  the  number  employed  in  two  crews 
working  twelve  hours  each.  But  the  number  of  these  old- 
fashioned  types  of  open-hearth  plants  is  small,  and  the 
relative  importance  warrants  only  a  brief  mention  of  the 
circumstance. 

Adaptability  of  Three^shift  system  to  Modem  PUmtsr 

At  modem  plants  the  peak  labor  load  comes  at  tapping 
time,  which  occurs  from  two  to  four  times  in  the  twenty-four 
hours.  Between  these  times  there  are  almost  always  many 
resting  periods.  The  "pouring  gang"  has  its  work  only  when 
the  furnaces  tap,  and  the  steadiness  of  occupation  of  this 
gang  depends  on  how  often  the  furnaces  tap  and  how  many 
furnaces  there  are  in  the  plant.  This  matter  should  obviously 
be  arranged  so  as  to  keep  this  gang  at  work  most  of  the  time ; 
then  it  would  not  be  a  serious  item  of  expense  to  increase  their 
tonnage  rate  slightly  and  work  them  in  three  sliifts,  instead  of 
in  two  shifts  with  resting  periods.  The  same  principle  applies 
to  the  work  of  the  gang  preparing  ladles  for  the  "heats,"  which 
are  the  product  of  the  "tap,"  i.e.,  the  metal  from  the  furnace. 
The  total  cost  of  the  pouring  gang  and  the  gang  that  prepares 


THE  PEAK  AND  VALLEY  LOADS     277 

the  ladles  for  the  heats  is  only  a  few  cents  per  ton  of  steel, 
in  a  large  modern  plant,  and  the  expertness  and  care  with 
which  they  do  their  work  has  an  important  influence  on  the 
waste  of  finished  product. 

The  gang  which  repairs  and  relines  the  ladles  may  be 
employed  on  two  shifts  of  ten  hours  each.  The  "pit  gang," 
that  is  the  gang  which  keeps  the  place  cleaned  up,  which 
removes  slag  from  the  pit,  disposes  of  material  thrown  down, 
or  spilled,  has  a  severe  job.  The  work  is  hard,  and  there 
is  danger  and  often  exposure  to  heat.  It  has  been  found 
possible  to  decrease  the  size  of  the  crews  on  this  work  when 
their  daily  hours  are  changed  from  twelve  to  eight. 

It  is  the  crew  on  the  charging  platform  of  the  furnace 
which  actually  makes  the  steel.  The  labor  of  this  crew  is 
today  greatly  decreased  by  the  "charging  machine,"  which 
not  only  takes  care  of  putting  the  steel-making  materials  in 
the  furnace,  but  also  charges  the  flux  and  ore  during  the 
course  of  the  operation,  and  any  pig  iron  needed  for  adjusting 
purposes.  Electric  appliances  have  also  greatly  decreased  the 
work  of  this  crew — for  example,  the  electric  appliance  for 
raising  the  doors  of  the  furnace  has  eliminated  the  "pull-up" 
boy  who  used  to  operate  the  hydraulic  or  manual  appliance. 
There-  are  also  mechanical  appliances  for  changing  valves, 
etc.  The  labor  of  the  tapping  operation  used  to  be  severe, 
but  now  oxygen  is  used  to  open  a  "hard"  hole;  with  proper 
care  this  leaves  the  hole  in  good  condition,  so  that  the  former 
work  of  repairing  this  hole  after  the  tap,  while  exposed  to 
extreme  heat,  is  now  unnecessary;  if  some  work  around  the 
hole  is  needed,  it  can  be  done  by  compressed  air.  The 
shovelling  of  recarburizer  into  the  ladle,  while  exposed  to 
the  extreme  heat  radiating  from  the  liquid  metal,  has  been 
replaced  by  a  mechanical  appliance,  into  which  the  recar- 
burizer is  dumped  from  a  wheel-barrow,   and  which  then 


278    THE  TWELVE-HOUR  SHIFT  IN  INDUSTRY 

dumps  it  into  the  stream  of  metal  as  slowly  or  as  fast  as 
the  operator  desires.  The  worker  in  charge  operates  the 
appliance  from  a  distance,  where  he  can  see  all  that  goes  on 
without  being  near  the  heat.  The  labor  of  repairing  lining 
after  tapping,  which  was  always  taxing,  and  which  must  be 
done  rapidly  in  order  to  facilitate  the  regularity  of  the  mill 
and  reduce  delays,  may  now  be  done  by  means  of  a  mud-gun, 
which  shoots  a  stream  of  repair  material  into  the  furnace  at 
exactly  the  point  desired. 

These  labor-saving  devices  have  eliminated  all  the  oper- 
ations requiring  severe  physical  endurance,  or  exposure  to 
heat.  They  enable  the  furnace  crew  to  do  its  work  with  less 
of  a  tax,  and  with  greater  speed.  They  have  revolutionized 
the  work  on  the  furnace  platform  during  the  past  decade. 

The  Floating  Gang  vs.  the  Sunday  Holiday. 

Formerly  it  was  the  custom  to  shut  down  open-hearth 
furnaces  every  week-end,  but  now  they  are  often  run  con- 
tinuously for  all  the  four  to  seven  months  of  their  campaign, 
with  important  saving  in  expense.  This  introduces  the  ex- 
pense of  the  "floating  gang,"  unless  the  eight-hour  shift  is 
in  vogue.  The  "floating  gang"  is  an  auxiliary  crew  of 
laborers  which  takes  the  place  of  individual  laborers  in  suc- 
cession for  one  day  each  week.  This  is  an  arrangement  by 
which  the  workers  on  a  two-shift  system  are  given  a  six-day 
weet;.  It  is  a  great  and  kindly  relief  from  the  old  seven-day 
week  system,  when  a  man  worked  eighty-four  hours  per  week 
for  fifty-two  weeks  of  the  year,  but  it  is  open  to  strong  objec- 
tion on  the  part  of  the  men.  They  want  the  free  day  on 
Sunday;  on  other  days  of  the  week  they  cannot  enjoy  the 
freedom  so  much ;  only  a  fraction  of  the  time  does  the  "float- 
ing gang"  system  give  each  man  a  Sunday  ofl^.  While  this 
is  primarily  a  sociological  question  it  has  its  technical  aspect, 


THE  PEAK  AND  VALLEY  LOADS     279 

because  it  results  in  men  leaving  the  work  for  other  indus- 
tries, large  labor  turnover,  irregularity  of  work,  etc. 

Departments  Operated  on  Sunday. 

Blast  furnaces  and  open-hearth  furnaces  are  operated 
most  economically  if  run  without  cessation  until  their  linings' 
are  worn  out  and  they  must  be  shut  down  for  extensive 
repairs.  This  means  a  continuous  campaign  of  some  months 
in  the  case  of  open  hearth,  and  of  some  years  in  the  case  of 
blast  furnace.  In  the  Bessemer  mill,  the  rolling  mill,  the 
several  finishing  departments,  the  tinning  mill,  the  galvan- 
izing department,  the  wire-drawing  department,  and  some 
others,  it  is  the  custom,  on  the  contrary,  to  discontinue  the 
manufacturing  operation  from  Saturday  afternoon  to  about 
Sunday  night.  During  this  interval  the  repair  gang  may  be 
very  actively  engaged,  but  the  operating  men,  at  least",  have 
their  Sunday  free.  For  these  men,  therefore,  the  question 
of  a  seven-day  week,  "floating  gang,"  etc.,  does  not  enter. 

Accordingly,  in  discussing  the  subject  we  shall  confine 
ourselves  to  the  blast  furnaces  and  the  open-hearth  mill. 
These  are  the  two  great  producing  departments  in  the  sense 
that  one  of  them  produces  practically  all  the  pig  iron,  and 
the  other  the  greater  part  of  the  steel  made  in  the  country. 
The  total  number  of  men  employed  in  these  two  departments 
is  but  a  small  proportion  of  the  total  number  of  iron  and 
steel  laborers. 

Cost  of  the  Floating  Gang  vs.  Sunday  Holiday. 

It  should  be  noted  that  the  "floating  gang"  system  adds 

one-seventh,  14.8  per  cent,  to  the  labor  cost  of  the  seven-day 

week  system. 

*True,  other  parts  of  the  open-hearth  sometimes  wear  out  ahead  of 
the  linings,  but  the  roof  is  inchulod  as  a  part  of  the  lining,  and  the 
principle  we  arc  discussing  hero  applies  regardless  of  which  part  happens 
to  fail  first. 


280    THE  TWELVE-HOUR  SHIFT  IN  INDUSTRY 

The  three-shift  system  gives  every  man  an  opportunity 
to  enjoy  his  church  and  his  family  on  Sunday,  without  in- 
volving the  expense  of  the  "floating  gang,"  or  the  waste  due 
to  shutting  down  the  open-hearth  furnace  at  the  week-end. 

One  method  of  arranging  the  hours  so  as  to  accomplish 
this  is  shown  in  the  following  table: 

TABLE  17 
Week-End  Change  op  Shifts  on  Three-Shift  System 


First  week 

Second  week 

Third  week 

First  week 

12  n. 

to 
8a. m. 

8a. m. 

to 
4p.m, 

4p.m. 

to 
12  n. 

12  n. 

to 
8a.m. 

8a.m. 

to 
4p.m. 

4p.m. 

to 
12  m. 

12  n. 

to 
8a.m. 

8a.m. 

to 
4p.m. 

4p.m. 

to 
12  n. 

12  n. 

to 
8a.m. 

8a.m. 

to 
4p.m. 

4p.m. 

to 
12  n. 

Mon 

Tues 

Wed 

Thurs 

Fri 

8at 

Sun 

Mon 

3 

2 
2 
2 
2 
2 
2 

3 

3 
3 
3 
3 
3 
2 

1 

2 
2 
2 
2 
2 
2 

1 

3 
3 
3 
3 
3 
3 

1 

3 
2 

3 
3 
3 
3 
3 
3 

2 

2 

2 
2 
2 
2 
2 
1 

3 

1 
1 

2 
2 

Tues 

Wed 

Thura. . .  . 

Fri 

Sat 

Sun 

Tues 

Wed 

Thurs. . .  . 

Fri 

Sat 

Sun 

Mon 

3 

Tues 

3 

THE  PEAK  AND  VALLEY  LOADS     281 

This  table  may  be  described  as  follows: 

Crew  No.   1  works  from  midnight  to  8  a.  m.  the  first 

week; 
From  4  p.  m.  to  midnight  the  second 

week; 
From  8  a.  m.  to  4  p.  m.  the  third 

week. 

Crew  No.  2  and  Crew  No.  3  work  the  other  hours,  as 
shown. 

When  the  week-end  change  of  shift  occurs : 

Crew  No.  1  gets  from  8  a.  m.  on  Saturday  until  4  p.  m. 
on  Sunday  free, — thirty-two  hours.  Each  crew 
enjoys  this  freedom  every  third  week. 

Crew  No.  2  gets  from  midnight  on  Saturday  until  mid- 
night on  Sunday. 

Crew  No.  3  gets  from  4  p.  m.  on  Sunday  until  4  p.  m. 
on  Monday. 

The  week-end  system  described  above  gives  one  crew 
longer  daylight  hours  of  work  on  Sunday  than  either  of  the 
other  crews,  but  each  crew  takes  this  shift  in  succession,  so 
it  comes  only  once  every  three  weeks  for  each  man.  It  can 
be  varied,  if  desired,  so  that  Crew  No.  3  comes  to  work  at 
10  p.  M.  on  Saturday  and  quits  at  noon  on  Sunday.  Crew 
No.  1  relieves  it  at  that  time.  Other  variations  are  possible, 
according  to  the  arrangement  which  best  suits  the  men  them- 
selves. 

By  this  system  each  man  works  fifty-six  hours  per  week. 

Twice  in  every  throe  weeks  each  man  works  one  con- 
tinuous shift  of  sixteen  hours.  This  is  severe,  but  not  nearly 
80  much  so  as  working  twelve  hours  a  day  for  six  days,  and 
is  a  great  improvement  on  the  twenty-four-hour  week-end 
shift  which  it  replaces.    An  occasional  sixteen-hour  shift  has 


282    THE  TWELVE-HOUR  SHIFT  IN  INDUSTRY 

not  proved  in  practice  to  be  exhausting  when  the  men  work 
only  fifty-six  total  hours  a  week,  and  when  it  is  either  preceded 
by  thirty-two  hours  of  rest  or  else  followed  by  twenty-four 
hours  of  rest.  The  twenty-four-hour  shift,  on  the  other  hand, 
is  followed  by  only  twelve  hours  of  rest,  and  it  comes  every 
second  week  instead  of  every  third  week. 

Importatice  of  Care,  Expertriess,  and  Loyalty  of  WorJcers. 

The  work  of  the  open-hearth  furnace  is  very  dependent 
for  its  economical  conduct  on  the  care,  expertness  and  loyalty 
of  the  men.  There  is  no  process  in  the  industry  wherein 
the  men  can  more  easily  save,  or  waste,  the  company's  money. 
If  the  crew  approaches  the  end  of  its  shift,  it  can  easily 
defer  the  labor  of  tapping  so  that  the  next  crew  will  have  it 
to  do,  with  consequent  delay  and  loss  of  money;  if  a  bad 
"puddle  hole"  is  observed  in  the  bottom,  it  may  be  ignored, 
or  only  partially  repaired,  and  a  break-out  may  occur.  Care 
will  increase  the  life  of  the  furnace,  economise  on  lining 
materials,  save  fuel,  improve  quality,  avoid  "pigging  up," 
for  example.  It  is  true  that  all  these  expert  furnace  men 
are  paid  on  the  tonnage  basis,  so  that  they  have  the  incentive 
to  exercise  their  best  care  and  skill,  but  it  is  human  nature 
to  shirk  a  little  when  one  is  tired  out  by  long  hours  of  work. 


CHAPTER   XX' 
SUMMARY   OF   THE   EVIDENCE 

THE  GENEEAL  SITUATION 

The  twelve-hour  day  is  strongly  established  in  the  iron 
and  steel  industry  by  long  custom,  and  by  its  unusual  adapta- 
bility to  the  requirements  of  this  industry.^  However,  recent 
progress  in  the  industry  has  been  in  the  direction  of  a  shorter 
work-day,  as  well  as  a  reduction  in  the  proportion  of  those 
men  who  are  on  duty  for  seven  days  a  week.* 

Peah  Loads  amd  the  Twelve-hour  Day. 

For  some  decades  past  the  labor  requirement  of  the  iron 
and  steel  industry  has  included  some  peak  loads  of  great 
intensity,  from  the  standpoint  of  physical  endurance,  or  of 
heat  exposure,  or  both.  Between  these  peak  loads  will  come 
periods  of  rest,  or  of  very  light  labor.'  This  type  of  labor 
requirement  has  been  due  in  part  to  the  special  liability  of 
iron  and  steel  furnaces,  rolling  mills,  or  accessory  apparatus, 
to  break-downs,  which  necessitate  intense  activity  of  the 
"maintenance  men"  until  they  are  repaired,  with  consequent 
idleness  of  the  other  men.  Another  cause  of  peak  and  valley 
loads  is  the  nature  of  the  operations  themselves:  For  ex- 
ample, during  and  immediately  after  the  "tapping"  of  blast 
furnaces  or  open-hearth  furnaces,  all  hands  are  subjected  to 
severe  labor.  The  same  is  true  of  the  charging  of  the 
old-fashioned  type  of  open-hearth  furnaca     This  makes  it 

'  See  page  221. 
» See  page  226. 
•  See  Chapter  XIX. 

283 


284    THE  TWELVE-HOUR  SHIFT  IN  INDUSTRY 

almost  imperative  to  rest  thereafter,  in  the  case  of  all  three 
examples.* 

Receut  improvements  in  equipment,  and  the  adoption  of 
electrical  appliances,  have  greatly  decreased  the  frequency 
and  the  duration  of  interruptions  of  the  different  processes 
due  to  break-downs,  especially  in  the  rolling  mills.  More- 
over, labor-saving  devices,  mechanical  and  others,  have  les- 
sened the  severity  of  peak  loads  due  to  the  processes  them- 
selves, in  respect  both  to  physical  endurance  and  to  heat 
exposure.^ 

Peak  Loads  and  Intermittent  Laboring. 

Notwithstanding  the  improvements  mentioned  above, 
break-downs  still  occur  at  times,  and  the  labor  requirements 
of  some  of  the  processes  are  still  variable.  For  this  last 
reason,  and  because  of  habit  duo  to  established  custom,  it  is 
usual  to  allow  the  men  periods  of  rest  while  on  duty,  with 
the  result  that  the  twelve-hour  shift  is  not  always  over-taxing, 
and  the  eight-hour  shift  is  sometimes  too  short  from  the 
economic  standpoint  to  employ  the  energy  of  the  men  to  the 
best  advantage.  But  this  is  not  always  so:  When  the  blast 
furnace  "goes  on  a  bum,"  when  emergencies  arise  in  other 
departments,  and  often  when  a  mill  runs  without  interru]^- 
tion  and  with  unusual  vigor,  the  eight-hour  day  is  long 
enough  for  any  workmen,  and  it  is  not  uncommon  to  meet 
emergencies  when  all  hands  are  occupied  with  severe  labor 
and  have  scarcely  any  opportunities  for  a  few  minutes'  rest 
for  twelve  consecutive  hours. 

In  the  majority  of  cases,  however,  labor  at  the  blant  fur- 
naces and  open-hearth  furnaces  is  more  or  less  variable  and 
irregular.  The  more  efficient,  alert  and  careful  the  laborers, 
the  less   often  will   emergencies   arise,   and   the  fewer   the 

*  Besides  Chapter  XIX,  see  pages  228,  276. 

'  For  recent  technical  advances  in  the  industry  see  pages  271  to  282. 


SUMMARY  OF  THE  EVIDENCE  285 

break-downs.  This  has  been  urged  as  one  of  the  advantages 
of  the  eight-hour  day,  because  the  men  are  more  alert  and 
efficient." 

Labor-Saving  Devices  and  the  Eight-Hour  Day. 

To  work  three  crews  instead  of  two  crews  per  twenty-four 
hours  involves  the  necessity  of  increasing  the  labor  costs  per 
day,  unless  daily  wages  per  man  are  reduced,  or  unless  we  be- 
lieve that  any  four  men,  working  only  eight  hours  per  day  can 
do  as  much  work  per  hour  as  six  men  working  twelve  hours. 
It  is  obvious  that  the  six  men  will  be  almost  as  efficient  and 
productive  per  hour  as  the  four  men  provided  they  have  so 
much  resting  time  as  to  keep  them  in  good  condition.  There- 
fore, anything  which  tends  to  eliminate  peak  loads  and  idle 
periods  increases  the  relative  efficiency  per  day  of  the  eight- 
hour  men  as  compared  with  that  of  the  twelve-hour  men,  and 
consequently  decreases  the  added  labor-cost  per  ton  of  work- 
ing three  shifts. 

Labor-saving  devices  also  reduce  the  labor-cost  per  ton. 
by  actually  eliminating  some  of  the  labor.  This  factor  ren- 
ders less  serious  an  increase  of  the  proportionate  labor  cost. 
(For  example:  If  labor  costs  $1  per  ton  on  the  twelve-hour 
system,  and  it  must  be  increased  by  20  per  cent,  to  adopt 
the  eight-hour  system,  then  the  increase  will  be  twenty  cents. 
But  if,  by  means  of  labor-saving  devices,  the  labor  costs  are 
reduced  to  sixty  cents  per  ton  on  the  twelve-hour  system, 
then  a  20  per  cent,  increase  will  only  amount  to  twelve  cents 
per  ton.) 

To  the  last  argument  the  objection  may  be  made  that 
cost  reductions  due  to  labor-saving  devices  sliould  benefit 
the  stockholders  rather  than  the  workmen,  but  this  suggests 
the  general  principle  stated  at  the  outset,  namely :  Th:it  the 
main  object  is  to  run  the  industry  economically  under  coni- 

•See  pages  274  and  275. 


286    THE  TWELVE-HOUR  SHIFT  IN  INDUSTRY 

petitive  conditions.  The  investigator  has  found  that  the 
majority  of  managers  and  executives  interviewed  beheve  that 
if  by  means  of  labor-saving  devices  the  plant  can  be  com- 
mercially operated  upon  an  eight-hour  shift  system  instead  of 
a  twelve-hour  system,  the  good  of  the  industry  can  be  better 
served  by  eliminating  the  twelve-hour  shift  than  by  increas- 
ing dividends. 

Instances  of  Commercial  Success  of  Eight-Hour  Day. 

The  circumstance  that  already  many  plants  are  operat- 
ing successfully  under  competitive  conditions  on  the  three- 
shift  system  ^  indicates  that  profits  need  not  suffer,  if  the 
change  is  made  with  wisdom.^  Opponents  of  the  three-shift 
system  explain  these  instances  by  declaring  that  they  find 
always  some  special  condition  in  the  case  of  every  plant  that 
employs  successfully  the  three-shift  system:  Either,  it  is 
urged,  such  plants  are  owned  by  the  interest  that  purchases 
their  product,  and  so  do  not  have  to  compete,  or  else  they 
are  making  a  special  product  at  a  special  price,  or  they  are 
geographically  removed  from  the  center  of  competition,  etc. 
But  this  argument  does  not  always  hold ;  although  it  applies 
in  many  such  cases. 

Even  if  the  argument  did  hold  good,  it  would  not  prevent 
the  experience  of  these  plants  applying  generally  in  the 
industry,  because  there  are  special  circumstances  operating 
in  every  iron  and  steel  district  of  the  country,  whereby  each 
has  an  advantage  or  disadvantage  in  competition  which  is 
far  greater  than  the  labor  cost  per  ton  as  influenced  by  this 
problem.  For  example,  it  is  well  known  that  the  cost  of 
labor  which  must  work  at  the  blast  furnaces  either  on  the 
twelve-hour  shift  or  the  eight-hour  shift  is  well  under  one 
dollar  per  ton  of  pig  iron.     If  this  sum  be  doubled  it  would 

*  See  page  244. 

•  See  pages  241,  245. 


SUMMARY  OF  THE  EVIDENCE  287 

still  be  small  in  comparison  with  the  advantages  some  com- 
panies have  because  of  wise  purchasing  policy,  technical 
skill,  low  overhead  and  ample  capital.  Judge  Gary  testified 
before  the  Lockwood  Committee  in  New  York  in  June,  1922, 
that  the  U.  S.  Steel  Corporation  could  produce  at  $3  per 
ton  less  than  its  competitors. 

Changing  Systems — Necessary  Conditions. 

The  experience  of  those  who  have  made  the  change  from 
the  twelve-hour  shift  to  the  eight-hour  shift  with  commercial 
success  gives  very  definite  information  as  to  the  conditions 
which  must  be  prepared  in  advance  in  order  to  produce  the 
desired  result;  they  include:^ 

1.  Having  the  equipment  in  satisfactory  condition. 

2.  Assuring  the  cooperation  of  the  men  in  the  change. 

3.  Assuring  that  the  necessary  labor  will  be  available. 

Likewise  this  experience  indicates  what  conditions  must 
be  avoided  if  the  change  is  to  be  made  without  disaster  to 
the  industry.^"    For  example  the  change  should  not  be  made : 

1.  During  a  period  of  labor  unrest. 

2.  After  strife,  or  when  bitterness  is  rife  and  mutual 

confidence  is  lacking. 

3.  "When  labor  is  arrogant,  or  elated  by  a  defeat  of  the 

management. 

4.  In  too  sudden  a  manner. 

5.  Unless  management  is  able  to  exert  an  influence  upon 

labor  to  prevent  tardiness,  absence,  deliberate  shirk- 
ing, misuse  of  the  extra  hours  of  free  time,  etc., 
inasmuch  as  laxity  in  those  matters  will  defeat  the 
commercial  benefits  of  the  Three-shift  System. 

•  Thej  are  discussed  in  full  in  Chapter  XVII. 
^Soo  pages  240,  241,  and  245. 


288    THE  TWELVE  HOUR  SHIFT  IN  INDUSTRY 

Groundless  Fears  of  the  Eight-Hour  Shift. 

It  is  said  that  some  managers  believe  men  to  be  more 
efficient  on  the  twelve-hour  shift  than  thej  would  be  on  the 
shorter  shift,  and  that  they  predicate  this  belief  on  their 
observation  that  the  work  is  better  done  at  the  end  of  a  long 
shift  than  at  the  beginning.  The  investigator  never  met  a 
manager  who  took  this  position.  In  fact  the  position  of 
every  manager  who  has  had  experience  with  both  systems 
has  been  that  he  invariably  found  the  men  more  efficient  on 
the  shorter  shift. 

The  fear  has  been  expressed  that,  if  twelve  hours'  pay 
were  given  for  eight  hours'  work,  the  men  would  soon  ask 
for  twelve  hours'  work  at  the  advanced  hourly  rate.  Con- 
cerning this  there  is  a  difference  of  opinion,  with  a  rather 
general  agreement  that  foreign  laborers  want  to  make  the 
most  money  that  the  work  will  bring,  regardless  of  how 
many  hours  they  labor,  but  that  the  better  class  of  laborers, 
and  especially  Americans,  are  satisfied  with  the  shorter  day 
if  it  brings  a  living  wage. 

The  remedy  that  has  been  applied  with  apparent  success 
to  the  discontent  which  some  show  with  the  eight-hour  shift 
is  a  very  simple  one,  namely:  Precede  the  change  from 
twelve  to  eight  hours'  work  by  time  observations  to  de- 
termine how  much  the  crew  would  produce  if  working  at 
some  greater  efficiency;  then  pay  the  same  hourly  rate  for 
eight  hours  as  for  twelve,  but  add  a  bonus  so  adjusted  that 
the  men  will  earn  the  same  daily  wage  as  before,  provided 
they  work  hard  for  eight  hours.  It  is  said  with  some  posi- 
tiveness  that,  if  the  crew  works  as  diligently  as  it  can  for 
eight  hours,  none  of  its  members  will  be  agitating  for  twelve 
hours'  work;  and  it  is  also  said  that  the  crew,  itself,  can 
be  relied  upon  to  see  that  every  man  does  his  work  without 
shirking;  disciplinary  measures  are  not  necessary  for  this 


SUMMARY  OF  THE  EVIDENCE  289 

when  a  bonus  depends  on  the  result.  The  working  of  this 
plan  was  so  good  at  one  plant  that  the  manager  declares  that 
eight  hours'  work  with  a  bonus  will  pay  for  itself. 

When  wages  are  paid  to  the  twelve-hour  men  on  the 
tonnage  basis,  they  have  an  incentive  to  work  hard  and  it 
is  not  reasonable  to  expect  any  greater  efficiency  for  eight 
hours'  work,  unless  the  men  are  actually  more  capable  on 
the  shorter  shift. 

Disadvantages  of  the  Twelve-Hour  Shift. 

In  some  departments  of  the  iron  and  steel  industry  twelve 
hours'  work  has  been  found  too  long  for  the  men,  and  it  is 
customary  to  have  "spell  hands"  to  relieve  them  at  intervals." 
In  at  least  one  case,^^  the  crews  are  actually  doubled,  and 
each  man  works  only  one-half  the  time.  Where  the  work 
is  not  so  continuous,  with  peak  and  valley  loads,  the  twelve- 
hour  duty  is  not  overtaxing,  but  another  very  serious  objec- 
tion arises.  It  is  customary  for  the  night  men  to  work  thir- 
teen hours,  and  the  day  men,  eleven  hours;  in  cases  of 
emergency  at  the  furnaces  (at  the  blast  furnaces  this  is 
technically  known  as  "going  on  a  bum"),  the  night  men, 
exhausted  by  thirteen  hours  of  taxing  labor,  often  find  it 
impossible  to  get  sufficient  rest  in  their  congested  homes, 
especially  in  hot  weather  and  when  the  children  are  at  home 
from  school. 

In  such  a  case  it  is  not  a  matter  of  being  exhausted  by 
the  labor,  but  of  not  having  sufficient  resting  time  between 
periods,  so  that  they  return  to  their  work  with  lowered  effi- 
ciency. On  the  eight-hour  shift,  they  always  have  time  to 
rest,  and  always  some  hours  for  sleep  during  darkness,  when 
it  is  comparatively  cool,  and  when  the  rest  of  the  family  ia 
quiet. 


"See  page  263. 
"  See  page  256. 


290    THE  TWELVE-HOUR  SHIFT  IN  INDUSTRY 

Deliberately  to  permit  laborers  to  loaf  while  on  duty  is 
wrong  from  tbe  standpoint  of  morale  and  discipline.  A  few 
minutes'  breathing  spell  after  exertion  may  be  wise,  but  the 
peak  and  valley  loads  of  the  iron  and  steel  industry  require 
more  than  this,  when  operating  on  the  twelve-hour  shift. 
Our  tacit  acceptance  of  the  sight  of  men  idling,  resting,  and 
even  sleeping,  on  duty  is  a  relic  of  the  days  before  the  severe 
labor  was  performed  by  mechanical  appliances.  We  forget 
that  the  principle  of  sleeping  during  paid  time  is  evidence 
of  economic  waste.  At  some  plants,  although  sleeping  on 
the  night  shift  is  not  officially  tolerated,  the  practice  is 
allowed  to  go  unobserved,  when  the  men  are  not  needed.  With 
the  three-shift  system,  rest  or  sleep  during  working  hours  is 
not  necessary,  even  at  the  blast  furnace. ^^ 

Advantages  of  the  Eight-Hour  Shift. 

Results  from  working  the  eight-hour  shift  have  disclosed 
the  following  advantages,  which  compensate  in  part  for  the 
extra  cost  of  working  three  crews  instead  of  two.  It  is  not 
to  be  supposed  that  all  of  these  advantages  will  be  experienced 
in  every  case  and  in  every  department,  but  any  of  them  may 
result  when  the  hours  of  labor  are  reduced  below  twelve  per 
day,  in  consequence  of  better  care,  better  attention,  better 
morale,  or  increased  alertness  or  expertness  on  the  part  of 
the  men: 

1.  Increased  efficiency,  due  in  part  to  better  physical 
and  mental  condition  of  the  men,  and  in  part  (after 
the  industry  has  been  working  the  shorter  hours  for 
several  months  or  years)  to  a  better  class  of  men 
attracted  by  better  working  conditions.  This  in- 
creased efficiency  has  manifested  itself  in  increased 

"See  page  274. 


SUMMARY  OF  THE  EVIDENCE  291 

production  per  man  per  hour  and  per  machine  per 
day,  thus  decreasing  overhead  expense.  It  has  also 
appeared  in  better  conduct  of  the  operations,  greater 
uniformity  and  regularity  of  operation  and  of 
quality  of  product,  less  fuel  used,  less  waste,  less 
need  of  repairs  to  equipment,  better  life  of  appa- 
ratus, etc.^* 

2.  Better  morale,  resulting  in  less  absences,  less  tardiness, 

less  shirking,  and  better  discipline.  The  better  dis- 
cipline is  due  in  part  to  the  spirit  of  the  men,  and 
in  part  to  the  pressure  which  the  foreman  can,  and 
will,  exert,  because  he  does  not  have  to  hold  back 
out  of  sympathy  for  tired  men.^° 

3.  Elimination  of  the  "floating  gang."     This  "floating 

gang"  is  an  expedient,  not  a  real  remedy;  it  is  an 
expense;  it  does  not  content  the  men,  because  it 
gives  them  their  free  day  only  occasionally  on 
Sunday. 

4.  Finally, — an   advantage  which  is  not  to  be  lightly 

considered, — in  the  event  of  labor  disputes,  the 
company  which  is  working  its  men  only  eight  hours 
a  day  enjoys  much  greater  prestige  with  the  public, 
whose  influence  in  a  labor  dispute  is  always  impor- 
tant. This  influence  may,  indeed,  be  the  factor 
which  decides  whether  a  strike  is  long  and  costly, 
or  short  and  comparatively  inexpensive.  The  twelve- 
hour  shift, — even  with  resting  periods, — leaves 
something  to  be  explained  to  the  public;  necessi- 
tates a  campaign  of  education  at  a  time  when  the 
public  is  not  always  ready  to  be  educated. 

"See  papes  240  ff.,  270  and  273. 
"See  page  271. 
»«See  page  278. 


292    THE  TWELVE-HOUR  SHIFT  IN  INDUSTRY 

Labor  Costs. 

It  has  often  been  pointed  out  that,  in  the  ultimate 
analysis,  the  total  cost  of  any  manufactured  product  is  com- 
posed chiefly  of  labor.  To  illustrate:  Pig  iron  is  made, 
by  means  of  labor,  out  of  ore,  flux,  and  fuel.  The  cost  of 
the  materials  used  is  far  greater  than  the  cost  of  the  labor, 
but  labor  produced  the  ore,  the  flux,  and  the  fuel;  and  so  it 
can  be  shown  that  labor  is  the  basis  of  all  cost,  if  one  goes 
back  far  enough.  In  the  iron  and  steel  industry,  however, 
the  proportion  of  the  labor  cost  which  is  affected  by  the 
twelve-hour  vs.  the  eight-hour  shift  is  only  a  fraction  of  the 
total  cost.  To  return  to  the  illustration:  The  ore,  the  flux 
and  the  fuel  does  not  represent  any  labor  on  the  twelve-hour 
shift  basis,  except  a  fraction  of  the  cost  of  the  fuel  in  some 
cases.^^  And  the  operating  labor  in  the  manufacture  of  pig 
iron  is  only  from  5.5  per  cent,  to  8  per  cent,  of  the  total 
manufacturing  cost,  while  that  much  of  it  which  still  works 
on  the  twelve-hour  shift  is  a  still  lower  percentage.  So  that 
those  persons  who  argue,  as  some  do,  that  the  change  from 
the  twelve-hour  to  the  eight-hour  shift  would  affect  an  in- 
crease in  90  per  cent,  of  the  cost  of  the  product,  are  dealing 
in  generalities  which  will  not  bear  analysis. 

Likewise,  in  the  case  of  the  open-hearth  furnace:  At 
least  50  per  cent,  of  the  raw  material  used  in  the  open-hearth 
is  scrap,  the  price  of  which  is  determined  by  market  con- 
ditions, and  is  not  affected  by  any  proposed  change  in  the 
labor  in  the  industry  from  twelve-hour  to  eight-hour  shifts. 

Finally,  only  a  part  of  the  laborers  in  the  industry  are 
working  on  a  twelve-hour  shift.  If  that  proportion  of  the 
men  were  changed  to  the  eight-hour  shift,  and  paid  as  much 
per  day  as  thoy  are  now  receiving  for  twelve  hours'  work, 
without,  at  the  same  time  securing  any  compensating  eco- 

"  See  page  252. 


SUMMARY  OF  THE  EVIDENCE  293 

nomic  advantages  through  increased  efficiency,  increased 
morale,  etc.,  the  total  manufacturing  cost  would  be  affected 
by  not  more  than  15  per  cent.,  perhaps  by  no  more  than  3  per 
cent.  This  is,  in  most  cases,  less  than  the  variations  in  cost 
already  experienced  by  plants  competing  with  one  another, 
because  of  efficiency  of  equipment,  technical  skill,  wisdom  in 
purchasing,  location,  capital  resources,  overhead  expense, 
etc.^*  If  the  increase  in  labor  cost  were  compensated,  at 
least  in  part,  by  resulting  or  accompanying  economies  in 
operation,  the  result  would  be  correspondingly  better. 

As  a  matter  of  actual  experience,  it  is  known  that  some 
plants,  or  departments  of  plants,  have  changed  from  the 
twelve-hour  to  the  eight-hour  shift  and  reduced  their  labor 
costs.^"  Others  are  operating  on  the  eight-hour  shift  with 
satisfaction  to  their  management  and  stockholders.^"  Others 
have  changed  and  reduced  their  total  manufacturing  cost.** 
Finally,  there  are  other  plants  which  have  had  experience 
with  the  eight-hour  shift,  the  exact  economic  result  of  which 
is  not  known,  but  as  to  which  there  seems  to  be  reason  to 
believe  that  the  total  ma'^ufacturing  cost,  is  at  most,  not 
much  greater  with  the  eight-hour  than  with  the  twelve-hour 
shift." 


"  See  especially  page  254,  and  page  286. 

"See  page  258. 

*•  See  pages  244,  275. 

"  See  pages  250,  260  ff. 

»  See  pages  263,  271  flf. 


INDEX 


Aluminum,  experience  of  com- 
panies on  three  shifts,  68 

American  Iron  and  Steel  In- 
stitute, President  E.  H.  Gary 
appoints  committee  to  investi- 
gate practicability  of  abolish- 
ing twelve-hour  day,  52 

American  Sugar  Kefining  Com- 
pany, experience  of,  with  three- 
shift  operation,  133;  schedule 
of  Brooklyn  plant,  137 

Automobile  Industry,  most  plants 
operate  two  eight-hour  shifts, 
162;  Ford  plant  has  combina- 
tion of  two  and  three  eight-hour 
shifts,  163 

Bakeries,  Chicago  plants  on  three- 
shift  continuous  operation,   161 

Basis  of  the  study  of  the  twelve- 
hour  shift  in  industry,  3 

Beet  Sugar,  plants  on  twelve-hour 
shifts,  136;  recent  experiments 
with  three  shifts,  138 

Breakfast  foods,  plants  mostly  on 
three  shifts,  159 

Brick  and  tile,  twelve-hour 
schedule  usual,  102;  experience 
in  West,  106;  three  shifts  in 
Illinois,  107;  question  of  tech- 
nical progress,  110 

Bureau  of  Labor  Statistics, 
analysis  of  hours  in  some  in- 
dustries, 32 


Cabot  Fund  Report  on  technique 
of  changing  from  two-shift  to 
three-shift  system  in  steel  in- 
dustry, footnote,  45 

Care-taking,  two-platoon  system 
in  police  service,  formerly  com- 
mon, now  abandoned  for  nine-, 
or  ten-hour  shifts,  197;  the 
ten-squad  system.  Police  Depart- 
ment, N.  Y.  City,  199;  fire  de- 
partments usually  operate  on 
two-platoon  system,  198;  watch 
men  usually  on  twolve-hour 
shifts,  200;  in  important  plants 
— N.  Y.  Shipbuilding  Co.,  Ford 
:Motor  Co.,  Washburn-Crosby 
Co.,  on  eight   hours,  200 

Cement  (see  also  Glass  and 
Cement),  Report  of  Conserva- 
tion Committee  of  Portland 
Cement  Association,  81 ;  effi- 
ciency and  the  shift-sj-stem  in 
cement  plants,  81;  comparative 
labor-efficiency,  82;  combination 
of  two  shifts  and  three  shifts  in 
cement  industry,  84;  three-shift 
system  in  cement  industry,  86; 
experience  of  plants  which  went 
to  three  shifts  prior  to  the  War, 
88 ;  experience  of  plant  which 
went  'o  throe  shift*  in   1921,  90 

Changing  from  two-shift  to  three- 
shift,  conditions  and  prepara- 
tions for,  19 


295 


296 


INDEX 


Chemical  Industries,  continuous 
work  in,  38;  peculiarities  and 
difficulties,  114;  heavy  chemi- 
cals, 115;  experience  of  a 
Tennessee  company,  117 

Conclusion  of  the  general  survey 
of  the  two-shift  and  three-shift 
system,  11 

Continuous-Industries,  the  lead- 
ing, classified,  7;  hours  of  labor 
in,  29;  purposes  of  investiga- 
tion of,  34 ;  the  leading,  classi- 
fied, 35;  heat-process  industries, 
36;  chemical  industries,  38; 
heavy-equipment  industries,  38 ; 
service  industries,  40;  technical 
importance  of,  40;  amount  of 
shift-work  in,  41;  method  of 
securing  data  concerning,  42 

Continuous  processes,  in  iron  and 
steel  industry,  220 

Continuous  work,  extent  of  in 
American  industry,  209 

Cooke,  Morris  L.,  4 

Copper,  experience  of  companies 
working  three  shifts,  58;  im- 
proved efficiency  on  eight-hour 
shifts,  60 

Cottonseed  oil,  crushing  plants 
now  on  twelve-hour  shifts,  145; 
xefining  plants  on  throe  shifts, 
146 

Day -workers  associated  with  shift- 
workers,  hours  for,  207 

Delivery  men  and  chauffeurs, 
hours  of,  203 

Drugs,  plants  on  three  shifts,  130 

Drury,  Horace  B.,  investigation  of 
change  from  two-shift  in  steel 
industry,  4;  lines  of  investiga- 
tion of,  extent  of  two-ahift  work 
in  continuous  process  industries, 
5;  general  survey,  26;  report  on 


a  general  survey  of  twelve-hour 
shift -work,  27 
Dyes,  plants  usually  work  on  two 
shifts  with  power  plants  and 
maintenance  men  on  eight-hour 
shifts,  122 

Eight-hour  shift  (see  also  three- 
shift  system),  instances  of  com- 
mercial success  of,  286 ;  neces- 
sary conditions,  287;  advan- 
tages of,  290 

Electricity,  power  plants  formerly 
on  twelve-hour  shifts,  169; 
present  tendency  for  engineers 
and  firemen  to  go  on  three 
shifts,  170;  pay-roll  costs  and 
manning  scales  in  power  plants, 
171 

Electro-Chemical  Industries,  plants 
at  Niagara  on  three  shifts,  130 

Engineers'  Club  of  Phila.,  meet- 
ing on  twelve-hour  shift,  3 

Explosives,  large  plants  on  three 
shifts,  121 

Express  service,  at  large  terminals 
continuous  on  eight-hour  shifts, 
195 

Federated  American  Engineering 
Societies,  Committee  on  Work 
Periods  in  Continuous-Industry, 
iii 

Fertilizers,  118;  acid  plants  on 
twelve-hour  shifts,  119;  plants 
could  be  put  on  three  shifts 
with  profit,  120 

Fire  departments,  usually  operate 
on  two-platoon  lystem,  198 

Floating  gang  versus  Sunday  holi- 
day, 278;  cost  of,  279 

Flour,  a  three-shift  industry,  151; 
three-shift  operation  profitable, 
153;        comparative       manning 


INDEX 


297 


scales  of  two-  and  three-shift 
system,  154 

Ford  Motor  Company,  economies 
in  cost  of  pig  iron  under  three- 
shift  operation,  275-276 

Foreword  by  President  W.  G. 
Harding,  vii 

Gas  Plants,  experience  with  three- 
shift  system,  175;  Phila.,  plant 
on  ten-hour  shifts,  176 

Glass  and  Cement,  (See  also 
Cement),  eight-hour  day  com- 
mon, 70;  no  technical  difficulties 
to  three  shifts,  72 ;  flint  glass, 
arrangement  of  hours  for 
workers,  73;  bottle  bloweri 
usually  on  three  shifts,  76;  win- 
dow glass  manufacturer  on 
three  shifts,  76;  plate  glass  in- 
dustry now  on  three  shifts, 
78;  effect  of  eight-hour  shifti 
on  men,  80 

Glue,  plants  on  three  shifts,  129 

Harding,     President     Warren    G., 
Foreword,     vii ;     White     House 
Conference   of   steel    executives, 
May  18,  1922,  52 
Heat-process      industries,      contin- 
uous work  in,  36 
Heavy-equipment     industries,    con- 
tinuous work  in,  38 
Hospital  service,  hours  in,  202 
Hotel  service,  hours  in,  201 
Hours    of    labor,    public    interests 
in,   27;    in  continuous-industries, 
29 

Ice,  ice  cream,  and  refrigeration, 
until  recently  mostly  on  two- 
shift  operation  on  twelve-hour 
basis,  179;  most  large  city  ice 
companies  now   on  three  shifts, 


179;  comparative  manning 
scales  of  Phila.,  ice  plant,  181 

Industrial  alcohol,  plants  on  three 
shifts,  122 

International  Labor  OflSce,  re- 
port of,  on  change  to  three- 
shift  system  in  European  coun- 
tries, 246 

Iron  and  Steel  Industry,  situation 
in,  15;  percentage  of  men  work- 
ing 12  hours,  16;  labor  costs 
and  total  costs,  20;  old  basis,  a 
two-shift  da}',  45;  tendencies 
toward  shorter  shifts,  47;  con- 
ditions in  1921,  50;  present 
situation  and  outlook,  51 ;  eco- 
nomic operation  a  prerequisite, 
219;  continuous  operations  in, 
220;  questions  involved  in 
shorter  shifts  in,  223;  working 
hours  in  1920  in,  224;  shorten- 
ing of  hours,  1910  to  1920,  in, 
225 ;  workers  employed  84  hours 
per  week  in  1910  and  1920,  226; 
workers  on  two  shifts  and  on 
three  shifts,  1910  and  1920, 
227;  two  shifts  versus  twelve 
hours  actual  work,  228;  con- 
ditions precedent  to  change  to 
three  shifts  in,  234;  importance 
of  adequate  equipment  in 
changing  to  three  shifts,  235; 
cooperation  of  labor  necessary 
for  change  to  three  shifts,  235; 
additional  labor  needed  for 
change  to  throe  shifts,  236; 
summary  of  question  of  labor 
available  for  change  to  three 
shifts  in,  240;  results  necee- 
sary  for  commercial  success  of 
three-shift  system,  241;  prob- 
ability of  such  results,  243;  in- 
stances of  lasting  success  with 
three     shifts,     244;     causes     of 


298 


INDEX 


failure  of  three-shift  system, 
245;  unfortunate  results  in 
Europe,  245;  bright  spots  in 
Europe,  247;  labor  eosta  per 
ton  of  three-shift  operation, 
249;  labor  costs  in  relation  to 
total  costs,  251;  labor  costs  a 
small  proportion  of  total  cost, 
252;  instances  of  lower  labor 
costs,  255;  the  rod  roller,  255; 
crane  men,  257;  pitmen  and 
bottom  men,  257;  other  cases, 
258;  instances  of  labor  costs 
higher  but  total  costs  lower, 
260 ;  the  converter  blower,  261 ; 
possible  economies  in  rolling 
milli,  263;  instances  of  higher 
labor  costs  and  higher  total 
costs,  263 ;  labor  costs  in  other 
processes  and  departments,  265; 
peak  and  valley  labor  loads, 
266;  labor  saving  devices,  268; 
economies  and  aids  with  peak 
loads  at  blast  furnaces,  271; 
recent  improvements  at  blast 
furnaces,  272;  advantages  of 
three  shifts,  273;  additional 
economies  possible,  275;  peak 
loads  at  open-hearth  furnaces, 
276;  Sunday  operations,  279; 
summary  of  evidence  concern- 
ing twelve-hour  day,  283 
Investigation  of  continuous-indus- 
tries, places  viiited,  43 ;  report 
based  on  statement  of  oflScers  of 
plants,  44 

Labor  costs  and  total  costs  in  iron 
and  steel  industry,  20;  require- 
ments of  three-shift  operation 
and  methods  of  meeting  them, 
249;  larger  costs — how  far  off- 
set by  savings  and  profits,  250; 
labor  cost  a  small  proportion  of 


total  cost  in  steel  industry,  252; 
instances  of  lower  labor  costs 
under  three-shift  system,  255; 
instances  of  labor  costs  higher 
but  total  costs  lower  in  steel  in- 
dustry, 260;  instances  of  both 
higher,  263;  peak  and  valley 
loads  in  steel  industry,  266; 
labor  saving  devices,  268;  peak 
loads  at  blast  furnaces,  271; 
recent  improvements  at  blast 
furnaces,  272 ;  additional  econ- 
omies possible,  275;  peak  loads 
at  open-hearth  furnaces,  276; 
Sunday  holiday,  278;  Sunday 
operation,  279;  week-end  change 
of  shift,  280;  importance  of 
care,  expertness  and  loyalty  of 
workers,  282;  peak  loads  and 
intermittent  laboring,  284;  labor- 
saving  devices  and  the  eight- 
hour  day,  285;  labor  costs,  292 

Lead,  companies  on  both  two-  and 
three-shifts,  65 

Lime  Industry,  generally  on  two- 
shifts,  95;  experience  of  one 
company  with  three-shifts,  95; 
methods  and  results,  96;  other 
companies  on  three  shifts,  101 

Manning  scales  in  two-shift  and 
three-shift  operation  in  flour 
mills,   154 

Midvale  Steel  Company,  compara- 
tive manning  scales  of  two-,  and 
three -shift  systems  in  power 
plants  of,  171 

Mining  and  Tunneling,  twelve- 
hour  shifts  found  in  clay  mines 
in  Florida,  167 ;  two  eight-hour 
shifts  common  in  metal  mines, 
coal  mines  and  in  tunneling, 
167;  three  shifts  for  engineers, 
firemen,  pumpmen  on  continuous 


INDEX 


299 


work  but  also  twelve-hour  shifts 
found  in  coal  mines,  167 

Nickel,  gains  in  efficiency  of  com- 
panies on  three  shifts,  66 

Non-ferrous  metals,  plants  in 
West  long  on  three  shifts,  56; 
East  and  South  on  two  shifts 
before  the  War  changed  to  three 
shifts,  57 

Palmerton,  Pa.,  experience  of 
N.  J.  Zinc  Company,  at,  64 

Paper  and  wood  pulp  industry, 
generally  on  three-shift  basis, 
148;  varying  practice  in  dif- 
ferent localities,  149 

Peak  and  valley  labor  loads,  266; 
advantages  of  three  shifts,  270; 
at  blast  furnaces,  271;  econo- 
mies and  aids  at  open-hearth 
furnaces,  276;  peak  loads  and 
twelve-hour  day,  283 

Petroleum,  refineries  now  solidly 
on  three  shifts,  141 

Police  Department,  N.  Y.  City, 
ten-squad  system,  199 

Postal  service,  mostly  on  eight- 
hour  shifts,  194 

Pottery,  terra  cotta  and  special 
clay  products,  usually  on  twelve- 
hour  shifts  for  continuous  proc- 
esses, 111;  labor  less  interested 
in  three  shifts,  112 

Procter  &  Gamble  Company,  modi- 
fied three-shift  system  in  soap 
industry,  126;  five-shift  system 
and  rotation  of  shifts,  128 

Public  service  electric  plants,  few 
employees  work  twelve  hours, 
172;  experience  of  electric 
plants  with  three-shift  system, 
173 


Eefined   com   products,   a  leading 

company  operates  on  three-shift 

system,  124 
Restaurant  workers,  hours  of,  203 
Eetail    stores,    hours    of    workers, 

203 
Rubber,  no  twelve-hour  shift-work 

in    industry,    156 ;    operation  of 

three-shift  system,  157 

Saw  mills,  some  operating  three 
eight-hour  shifts,  162 

Service  industries,  continuous  work 
in,  40 

Seven-day  week,  207 

Shift-work,  amount  of  in  continu- 
ous-industries, 41 

Shipbuilding,  watchmen  on  three 
shifts,  163 

Slaughtering,  power  plants  and 
watchmen  in  meat  packing  in- 
dustry generally  on  twelve-hour 
shifts,  165;  Alschuler  Arbitra- 
tion decision  in  1921  established 
eight-hour  day,  165 

Soap,  sentiment  against  continu- 
ous operation  of  plants,  124; 
twelve-hour  shifts  when  neces- 
sary, 125;  experience  of  Procter 
&  Gamble  on  a  modified  three- 
shift  system,  126 

Stables  and  garages,  hours  in,  202 

Steel  industry  (see  Iron  and  Steel 
Industry) 

Stoughton,  Bradley,  assignment  of 
investigation  of  technical  as- 
pects in  steel  industry,  5;  report 
on  iron  and  steel  industry,  218 

Sugar,  cane  sugar  mills  in 
Louisiana  on  twolvc-hour  shifts, 
132;  American  Sugar  Refining 
Co.,  and  a  few  small  plants  on 
three  shifts,  133;  beet  sugar 
plants  on  twelve-hour  shifts,  136 


300 


INDEX 


Sunday  holiday,  278-279 

Table  salt,  plants  formerly  on  two 
shifts  now  permanently  on  three 
shifts,  141 

Taylor  Society,  inquiry  of  Inter- 
national Labor  Office  concerning 
two-shift  work  in  other  coun- 
tries, 4;  bulletin,  paper  on 
three-shift  system  in  steel  in- 
dustry, 34,  footnote 

Telegraph  companies.  Western 
Union  land  lines  and  cable  ser- 
vice operated  on  eight-hour 
■hifts,  191 

Telephone  companies,  few  workers 
in  any  departments  on  more 
than  eight-hour  shifts,  192 

Textiles,  commonly  only  day-time 
operation,  when  night  work  is 
necessary,  two  shifts  of  twelve 
hours  or  less  depending  on  state 
laws  regulating  work  of  women, 
164 

Three-shift  operation,  factors  to 
be  considered  in  changing  from 
two-shift  to,  12 

Three-shift  system,  gains  from,  21 ; 
conclusions  concerning,  from 
both  reports  of  Drury  and  of 
Stoughton,  22;  cost  of  opera- 
tion, 53;  few  companies  after 
three-shift  operation  go  back  to 
two-shifts,  55 ;  in  cement  in- 
dustry, 86;  comparative  labor 
efficiency  in  cement  industry, 
82;  modified,  rotating  shifts 
and  five-shift  work,  128;  paper 
and  wood  pulp  industry  gen- 
erally on,  148;  advantages  of, 
in  paper  industry,  150;  profit- 
able in  flour  industry,  153 ; 
operation  of,  in  rubber  industry. 


157;  profitable  in  cereal  foods 
industry,  160;  costs  of  and 
manning  scales  in  power  plants, 
170;  experience  of  electric 
plants,  173;  water  works  plants, 
178;  in  city  ice  plants,  179;  in 
ocean  and  water  transportation, 
185;  important  railroad  stations 
operate  on,  189;  in  telegraph 
and  cable  service,  191;  in  postal 
service,  194;  in  express  service, 
195;  procedure  in  change  from 
two  shifts  to  three,  205;  impor- 
tant conditions  of  change  to, 
206;  hours  for  day- workers 
associated  with  shift-workers, 
207;  rotation  of  shifts,  208; 
technical  difficulties  in  changing 
to,  210;  factors  to  be  considered 
in  changing  to,  211 ;  how  change 
to  affects  number  of  shift- 
workers,  211;  effect  on  produc- 
tion, 212;  wages  rates  com- 
pared with  two-shift  operation, 
214;  managerial  opinion  on 
comparison  with  two-shift  ope- 
ration, 215;  employees  use  of 
leisure  time  under,  216;  re- 
version to  two  shifts  negligible, 
216;  versus  the  eight-hour  day, 
230;  questions  involved  in  steel 
industry  in  proposal  for  shorter 
shifts,  231;  the  real  issue  is  a 
question  of  wages,  233 ;  condi- 
tions precedent  to  change  to  in 
steel  industry,  234;  adequate 
equipment,  cooperation  of  labor, 
and  additional  labor  needed  for 
in  steel  industry,  235;  dubious 
inferences  concerning  attitude 
of  labor  towards,  238 ;  failure 
of  thorough  lack  of  cooperation, 
239;  summary  of  question  of 
labor  available  for  in  steel  in- 


INDEX 


301 


dustry,  240;  results  necessary 
for  commercial  success  of  in 
Bteel  industry,  241;  probability 
of  favorable  results  in  steel  in- 
dustry, 243;  instances  of  lasting 
success,  244;  causes  of  failure, 
245;  unfortunate  results  in 
Europe,  245;  bright  spots  in 
Europe,  247;  labor  costs  of, 
per  ton,  249;  methods  of  meet- 
ing labor  requirements  of,  249; 
larger  costs  offset,  250;  labor 
costs  in  relation  to  total  costs 
of  iron  and  steel  products,  251 ; 
instances  of  lower  labor  costs 
under,  255;  advantages  of  in 
dealing  with  peak  loads,  270; 
advantages  of  at  blast  fur- 
naces, 273;  adaptability  of  to 
modern  open-hearth  furnace 
plants,  276;  week-end  change  of 
shift,  280;  labor-saving  devices 
and  the  eight-hour  day,  285 ; 
commercial  success  of,  286; 
necessary  conditions  in  chang- 
ing to,  287;  groundless  fears  of 
eight-hour  shift,  288 ;  disadvan- 
tages of  twelve-hour  shift,  289; 
advantages  of  eight-hour  shift, 
290;  labor  costs  of,  292 

Three-shift  work,  extent  of  in 
various  industries,  8 ;  con- 
clusions concerning,  11 

Transportation,  hours  of  licensed 
deck  and  engine  officers  on 
ocean,  lake,  and  river  vessels, 
182;  deck  crews  or  sailors  on 
three-watch  system,  183;  mixed 
system  of  three  watches  and 
day-work  result  of  marine  strike 
in  1919,  185;  two-watch  system 
for  sailors  the  rule  on  Great 
Lakes,  185;  hours  of  workers  on 
steam   railroads,    187;    Adamson 


Act  makes  nominal  hours  eight, 
188;  important  railroad  stations 
operate  on  three  eight-hour 
shifts,  189;  switchmen  since 
1917  on  eight -hour  shifts,  189; 
crossing  guards  and  roundhouse 
men  on  eight -hour  shifts,  190; 
railway  shops  operate  on  eight- 
hour  shifts,  190;  street  rail- 
ways, workers  average  nine 
hours,  191 
Twelve-hour  shift,  general  con- 
clusions concerning,  adopted  by 
Engineers'  Committee,  5;  ex- 
tent of  in  various  industries,  8  ; 
conclusions  concerning,  11 ;  lack 
of  information  about,  31; 
Federal  Bureau  of  Labor 
Statistics,  study  of,  32;  alterna- 
tives to,  209;  technical  difficul- 
ties in  changing  from,  210; 
factors  to  be  considered  in 
changing  from,  211;  how 
change  from  affects  number  of 
shift-workers,  211;  how  change 
from  affects  production,  212; 
wage  rates  compared  with  three- 
shift  operation,  214;  mana- 
gerial opinion  concerning  com- 
parison of  with  three-shift  ope- 
ration, 215;  revision  to,  negli- 
gible, 216;  in  iron  and  steel  in- 
dustry, 221 ;  influences  deferring 
shorter  shifts  in  iron  and  steel 
industry,  223;  two-shift  system 
versus  the  twelve-hour  day,  224; 
two-shift  plan  versus  twelve 
hours'  actual  work  in  iron  and 
steel  industry,  228;  two  shifts 
with  idle  periods.  229;  differ- 
ences between  two-shift  system 
and  twelve-hour  day  sum- 
marized, 230;  disadvantages  of, 
289 


302 


INDEX 


Two-shift  system,  universally 
established  in  cane  sugar  indus- 
try, 133;  majority  of  sugar  re- 
fining companies  on  two-shift 
Byitem,  133 

U.  S.  Steel  Corporation,  number 
of  twelve-hour  employees  in 
1919,  46;  position  of  on  twelve- 
hour  day,  48 ;  conditions  in 
1921,  50;  Judge  Gary's  an- 
nouncement in  April  1922,  51 

Washburn-Crosby  Flour  Mills, 
three-shift  operation  in,  152 


Water-works  plants,  mostly  on 
eight-hour  shifts,  178 

Wolf,  Robert  B.,  report  on  chang- 
ing from  two  shifts  to  three  in 
paper  industry,   149 

Wood  distillation,  many  employees 
on  twelve-hour  work,  123 

Working  conditions,  importance  of 
in  industry,  27 

Working  hours  in  1920  in  steel 
industry,  224 

Zinc,  experience  of  Palmerton 
Works  of  N.  J.  Zinc  Company, 
62 


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